Reuters sweeps competition on Brazil presidential election

Reuters swept away competitors with coverage of Brazil’s presidential election on Oct 31 between the ruling party’s Dilma Rousseff and the opposition’s Jose Serra. Reuters was ahead on all 16 alerts measured against Bloomberg and all 10 against Dow Jones. That included a win on unofficial exit poll figures showing Rousseff would be elected. Reuters was also ahead of Bloomberg and Dow Jones when the exit poll was officially announced. When Brazil’s electoral court finally confirmed that Rousseff had won, Reuters was first with the news. Clients had already learned that Rousseff had won the election before the election authorities confirmed it, once it became clear it was mathematically impossible for Serra to catch her. Strong analysis pieces and factboxes on Rousseff’s policy proposals, her inner circle and likely cabinet picks, and an exclusive interview with Brazil’s new opposition leader rounded out the election night coverage. Reuters kicked off the last week of the campaign with a strong analysis arguing that, barring a Rousseff meltdown, the race was essentially over, even as others like the Financial Times and The Economist were still saying it was anyone’s race. They and even the analysts at RBS, Goldman Sachs and others didn’t start treating it as a done deal until Oct. 28 or later. The Reuters preview package outlined the challenges that Rousseff will face as president, and made clear that she will stick to the broad economic policies of the hugely popular outgoing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who handpicked her to succeed him.