Brazil media mogul Marinho of Globo dies

  * Derided by some for his company's conservative politics but hailed
as a media pioneer, Marinho was one of Brazil's most influential
businessmen despite his low-profile approach

  Peter Muello

  RIO DE JANEIRO - Roberto Marinho, who turned his father's newspaper
into a media empire and became one of Brazil's richest and most powerful
men, has died, according to one of the television networks he founded.
He was 98.

  Marinho died on Wednesday from pulmonary edema in Rio's Samaritano
Hospital, where had been taken earlier in the day, Globo TV reported.

  Marinho founded and for years ran Organizacoes Globo, which included
TV Globo -- one of the world's largest private networks -- as well as
cable and pay television providers; magazines and newspapers, including
Brazil's third-largest daily, O Globo; a network of radio stations, the
Editora Globo publishing house and recording labels.

  Marinho also controlled other companies grouped under Globo
Comunicacoes e Participacoes, or Globopar, of which he was chairman of
the board.

  With a fortune estimated at US$6.4 billion in 2000, Marinho saw his
personal worth dwindle after financial setbacks and the decline of
Brazil's currency, the real. In 2003, he failed to make Forbes
magazine's annual list of billionaires.

  But it was his hands-on management of TV Globo, with its 113 stations
and affiliates that reach 99.9 percent of Brazilian homes, that gave
Marinho unparalleled influence over shaping the nation's culture,
politics and image of itself.

  President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva decreed three days of national
mourning. "Brazil lost a man who spent his life believing in Brazil," he
said

  A self-described "patriot" with close ties to Brazil's 1964-85
military regime, Marinho unabashedly used Globo's power to favor chosen
politicians and snub those he deemed "bad Brazilians." He could make or
break candidates, and presidential hopefuls routinely made the
pilgrimage to Rio for his blessing.

  In 1985, when President-elect Tancredo Neves picked Marinho's close
friend Antonio Carlos Magalhaes as his minister of communications, he
reportedly justified his choice by saying: "I'll fight with the army
minister, but not with Roberto Marinho."

  Born in Rio de Janeiro on Dec. 3, 1904, Marinho went to work at the
daily O Globo after the death of his father, Irineu Marinho, who founded
the newspaper in 1925 and died 23 days later. Starting as a reporter,
the young Marinho quickly climbed the ladder and became managing editor
in 1931, at the age of 26.

  Under Marinho's guidance, Globo rapidly expanded. Radio Globo began
broadcasting in 1944, and in 1962 Marinho signed an agreement with the
U.S. group Time-Life that led to the creation of TV Globo three years
later.

  The rise of TV Globo coincided with the military overthrow of leftist
President Joao Goulart in 1964. The right-wing generals were eager to
create a national telecommunications network to promote development and
national security. It was the age of Brazil's "economic miracle," and
Globo was its voice.

  In 1969, Congress ruled that Globo's agreement with Time-Life was
illegal and dissolved it, leaving Marinho with near-total control over
the network.

  On Sept. 1, 1969, Brazilians saw the first nationwide, prime-time news
program, called "Jornal Nacional." The Globo Network was born.

  Globo also launched the national passion for telenovelas -- slick,
steamy, prime-time soap operas that became the hallmark of Brazilian
television. Globo novelas were broadcast in more than 100 countries,
including the United States and China -- Cuban President Fidel Castro
reportedly is an avid fan.

  Through it all, Marinho left his mark. His personal views were often
aired as prime-time editorials by "the journalist Roberto Marinho," the
only attribution he allowed.

  Critics complained that Globo was notably quiet about anti-government
protests and human rights abuses under the military regime. In 1984,
when millions took to the streets to demand free elections, Globo
virtually ignored the protests.

  Marinho's close links to the government were analyzed in a 1993 BBC
documentary entitled "Brazil: Beyond Citizen Kane" in reference to the
Orson Welles movie based on the life of U.S. publisher William Randolph
Hearst. But the Brazilian screening of the documentary was mysteriously
canceled by order of the Sao Paulo state government, allegedly at
Marinho's behest.

  Marinho continued to run Globo into his 90s, although he gradually
turned over power to his sons Roberto Irineu, Joao Roberto and Jose
Roberto.

  Marinho was married three times, the last to Lily Carvalho, Miss
France of 1938.

Rio de Janeiro - The Associated Press
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