Jesús de Polanco facts for kids

Jesús Polanco Gutiérrez in 2006

Jesús Polanco Gutiérrez (born November 7, 1929 – died July 21, 2007) was a very successful businessman from Spain. He built one of the biggest media companies in the world. In 2005, he was the third richest person in Spain. He was also listed among the world's richest people by Forbes magazine.

Building a Media Empire

Jesús Polanco was born in Madrid. His family came from Santillana del Mar, Cantabria. He owned a large part of the Prisa group. This group is a huge company that owns many different media businesses.

What Prisa Owned

Prisa's businesses included:

• The newspaper El País
• The radio channel Cadena SER
• The TV channel Cuatro (TV)
• The digital TV platform Digital+ (which included Canal+)

Prisa also had big interests in publishing books. It owned Grupo Santillana, Ediciones El País, El País Aguilar, Alfaguara, Altea, Tiendas Crisol, I.B. Tauris, and Richmon Publishing. Because of his big role in the media world, some people called him 'Jesús del Gran Poder'.

Media and Public Opinion

Polanco's media companies were known for having a progressive or left-leaning viewpoint. Other media companies, like the newspapers ABC and El Mundo, often had more conservative views. These rival companies sometimes said that Polanco's media had too much control over news in Spain. They also claimed his media might show biased reporting.

News Coverage and Elections

For example, some rivals accused Prisa of trying to influence public opinion. This happened especially after the train bomb attacks in Madrid on March 11, 2004. They claimed Prisa influenced opinions against the government at the time, which was the People's Party (PP). The People's Party, led by Mariano Rajoy, lost the 2004 Spanish elections. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), led by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, won instead.

Changes in TV Broadcasting

In 2005, Prisa asked the Spanish Government for permission to change its pay TV channel, Canal+, into a free-to-watch channel. The government agreed, and the Cuatro (TV) channel began broadcasting for free in November 2005. Some people were not happy about this decision because there wasn't much discussion about it first.

Responding to Accusations

In 2007, Polanco spoke about the accusations that his media was biased. He said it was hard to be completely neutral when one political party would do anything to get back into power. In response, the Spanish People's Party encouraged people to avoid all of Polanco's media channels. However, this idea was criticized by many democratic parties across Europe.

Later Life

Jesús Polanco died on July 21, 2007, in Madrid. He was 77 years old.

See also

In Spanish: Jesús de Polanco para niños