Formerly an employee of O Liberal, Brazil's largest media company, he later became the publisher and editor of the independent newsletter Jornal Pessoal.
In more than 42 years of reporting, Pinto has reported on a number of sensitive or dangerous topics, including drug trafficking, deforestation by ranchers and loggers, and military, political, and corporate corruption.
His reporting has led him to be the target of an assault, death threats, and 33 lawsuits.In 2005, he won an International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists, a US-based NGO.
In 2008, the Los Angeles Times described him as having the reputation of "an authoritative, stubbornly independent journalist who doesn't shrink from confronting some of Brazil's most potent interests".