Jaume Roures

Jaume Roures
Jaume Roures.
Born	Jaime Robles Lobo 1950 (age 73–74)
Nationality	Spanish
Occupation(s)	Businessman, film producer, political activist and media mogul
Known for	CEO of Mediapro

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Roures and the second or maternal family name is Llop.

Jaume Roures Llop (born 1950) is a Spanish businessman, film producer, political activist and media mogul from Catalonia. Roures is best known as the CEO of Mediapro, a prominent television company operating out of Barcelona, of which he owns a 12% share. This company also owns the newspaper Público.

Professional career

Roures began his work in television at TV3 (the main television channel in Catalonia), which he worked for between 1984 and 2001. In 1995 he founded Mediapro. The company reached relevance by creating in 2007 the newspaper Público and obtaining in 2005 the concession of the last open analogue television license granted (La Sexta), by the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and without any contest, when it was planned to no longer grant analog licenses in the future.

Público newspaper

Roures founded the newspaper Público together with Tatxo Benet and Toni Cases at the beginning of 2007, through the publisher Mediapubli Sociedad de Publicaciones y Ediciones. In January 2012, Público' dismissed practically all of its staff through the application of two phases of layoffs after the close of the print edition of the newspaper. On May 22, 2012, an association of former employees and readers made a bid to acquire the newspaper, which was suddenly awarded again to the Roures group.

Political activism

Roures has a history of political support for both Trotskyism and the Catalan right to self-determination.

As a youth, Roures was a member of first the Workers' Front of Catalonia and then the Revolutionary Communist League (commonly known as LCR), which was a member of the Trotskyist Fourth International (post-reunification).

He was arrested two times during Franco's dictatorship, and in 1969 he spent time in prison due to his belonging to the trade union Comisiones Obreras.

He had later run-ins with the law, including in 1983, when he was arrested for allegedly collaborating with the Basque separatist paramilitary ETA. He was accused of collaborating with the creation of a Barcelona Command and of having lodged in his home the ETA member Iñaki Ibero Otegui; kidnapper of the industrialist Saturnino Orbegozo, who at that time was fleeing from law enforcement and was trying to rebuild ETA paramilitary structures in Barcelona. At that time the members of the LCR were in favor of separatism of regions from Spain and the dissolution of the Spanish state as a unified entity.

In more recent times, Roures has stated that he is in favour of the right of self-determination and would likely see an independent Catalonia. Aside from these political concerns, he has worked with the American producer Oliver Stone in creating a documentary about Fidel Castro.

Filmography

• Midnight in Paris (2011), directed by Woody Allen
• You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2011), directed by Woody Allen
• Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), directed by Woody Allen
• Sexykiller (2008)
• Camino (2008)
• Va a ser que nadie es perfecto (2006)
• Salvador (2006)
• Amor en defensa propia (2006)
• Volando voy (2006)
• Princesas (2005)
• Comandante (2003)
• Mondays in the Sun (2002)

External links

• Jaume Roures at Internet Movie Database