Ernestina Herrera de Noble
Ernestina Laura Herrera de Noble | |
|---|---|
| Born | 7 June 1925 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Died | 14 June 2017 (aged 92) |
| Occupation(s) | Businesswoman, publisher |
| Known for | Principal shareholder and director of Grupo Clarín and Clarín newspaper |
Ernestina Laura Herrera de Noble (7 June 1925 – 14 June 2017) was a prominent Argentine businesswoman and publisher, recognized as the principal shareholder of the Grupo Clarín media empire and the director of its leading publication, Clarín. She holds the distinction of being the first female to lead a major South American newspaper.
Life and times
Herrera de Noble was born in Buenos Aires in 1925. Before entering the publishing world, she pursued a career as a Flamenco dancer. Around 1950, she encountered Clarín founder Roberto Noble, whom she married in 1967. Following Noble's death in 1969, she inherited leadership over Clarín, which had been Argentina’s most circulated daily since 1965. Confronted with financial difficulties, she arranged a US$10 million loan in 1971 from economist Rogelio Julio Frigerio, a close associate of Noble, and appointed Héctor Magnetto to oversee the newspaper’s financial operations.
In 1977, Herrera de Noble played a key role in establishing Papel Prensa, a consortium formed with rivals La Nación, La Razón, and the Argentine government to manufacture newsprint domestically. Under her guidance, Clarín diversified its media presence by launching radio station Radio Mitre, acquiring television channel Channel 13 in 1990, entering cable television through Multicanal in 1992, and expanding into other media sectors. She also collaborated with La Nación on ventures such as the news agency Diarios y Noticias (DyN) founded in 1982 and the holding company Cimeco S.A., created in 1997 to acquire significant regional newspapers including Los Andes and La Voz del Interior. These holdings were consolidated into Grupo Clarín in 1999, Argentina’s largest media conglomerate, jointly controlled by Herrera de Noble along with Magnetto, José Antonio Aranda, and Lucio Rafael Pagliaro.
Her leadership period was accompanied by several disputes, notably an ongoing inheritance conflict with Guadalupe Noble, Roberto Noble’s biological daughter, over control of Grupo Clarín. In 2002, Herrera de Noble was briefly detained following accusations from the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo related to DNA testing for two children she adopted during Argentina’s dictatorship; although her appeal to refuse providing samples was upheld in 2008, legal proceedings persisted. Political friction intensified amid confrontations between Grupo Clarín and the Kirchner administration concerning media ownership regulations restricting licenses per owner and state intervention. The government also contested the legitimacy of Papel Prensa’s acquisition in 1977; however, Herrera de Noble was exonerated from wrongdoing in this matter in 2016.
She passed away on June 14, 2017, aged 92.