“[Conrad Black is] so irredeemably evil that he should be consigned to hell” printed Toronto Life magazine in 2004, a satirical piece. The significance of this quote is that Conrad sued Toronto Life for $2.1 million dollars over this quote (and the piece in particular). Since $2.1 million dollars is a ton of money for most people (the non-Conrad Blacks of the world), and court costs aren’t exactly cheap either, Toronto Life backed downed and apologized for printing those words. Black, appropriately showed to the world his lack of evilness by using his wealth to coerce media to articles and apologize for dare insulting him: A LORD OF THE REALM.
Lord (but not really; Of a possible 767 days since he was named a lord, he has only served for 19 days) Black has been a convicted criminal since the age of 14. At age 14, at the expensive, prestigious private school (Upper Canada College) he attended (which he was driven to by a chauffeur), he broke into the administrative office, stole the exam papers – and in a telling attempt to be a businessman, sold those stolen exam papers for profit. He was later caught, and expelled. Later, at his new school Trinity College School he is expelled for insubordinate behaviour. These are his first two official convictions, but he’ll have graver ones to face.
On July 13th, 2007 Conrad Black, along with his business partners at Hollinger Inc, are convicted of three counts of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice – the last part he was caught on a security camera doing, which you can watch partially in the Al Jazeera report below.
Later, two of the mail fraud charges against Black were revoked, still leaving him with one count of mail fraud, and one count of obstruction of justice.
Indeed, a criminal. And none of this accounts for the millions he has swindled and influence he has peddled that was legal or unaccounted for.
**
Now that you know about Mr. Black’s criminality, I’ll elaborate on the assertion of him being a bully.
Conrad’s malevolence is particularly present in his attitudes and actions towards writers and journalists (and ultimately, this means consumers of journalistic creation). Firstly he has a hate of independent journalists, and on his quest to obtain newspapers (at the peak, he owned 528 different papers) he used that power to heavily influence the journalistic/editorialist direction of those papers. And second, Black uses his wealth and power to intimidate and chill any “excessive” criticism of himself.
Conrad Black absolutely hates Canadian journalists, as made clear by his numerous quotes about them:
Canadian media [are] irresponsible, narcissistic, self-righteously biased, unqualified to exercise the power they have, over-indulged… by owners afraid to offer any ethical direction. –Conrad Black (1)
A large number of journalists are ignorant, lazy, opinionated, and intellectually dishonest. The profession is heavily cluttered with aged hacks toiling through a miasma of mounting decrepitude and often alcoholism. –Conrad Black (2)
The malaise of our free press [is] the irresponsible power of journalists, unrestrained by publishers. –Conrad Black (3)
As a media mogul, he often used his ownership powers to expel journalists he disliked or disagreed with in order to install someone more to his liking. This was also made clear though his own words:
As I have gradually risen through the ranks of the newspaper business… I have become an ever more vociferous advocate of the publisher, especially the proprietor publisher. Not as a ravening capricious despot or propagandist but as the needed countervailing influence to the proverbial working press.
…Much the best course, in my judgement, and the one that we try to follow, as do many others, is to hire editors with whom the principal shareholder, where there is one, is in general agreement, to minimize internal frictions. But the proprietor [still] should exercise an influence. –Conrad Black (4)
Our corporate destiny is now disclosed, if not manifest, to even the most sceptical onlooker, (though few audible sceptics remain). Newspapers, especially quality newspapers, remain powerful outlets for advertising and information (and political influence). –Conrad Black (5)
Black despised “soft lefties” as he described them, and often replaced those editorialists with people he agreed with more, and people whom he thought would best represent his business interest.
Martin believes the disconnect began when Conrad Black converted the Financial Post into the National Post, hired a stable of conservative commentators like Mark Steyn, David Frum and George Jonas, bought the centrist Southam chain and turned the entire package into a vehicle to unite Canada’s right and retool the country’s values to U.S.-style conservatism. (6)
Black was more effective as a conservative political advocate than a businessman. “Yet Conrad Black’s business ambitions probably always ran second to his urge to be an intellectual force of conservatism. He did not want to simply own newspapers. He wanted to use them to help to reshape the political culture of his native Canada, and to influence that of the United States, Britain and Israel …”(7)
How does this make him a bully? Well, in order to install his people of interest, he had to expel the people of disinterest. This mean mass-firing, this meant cutting, this meant union-busting – everything that had to be done in order to maintain effective control and cost-control, as well. Remember, he strongly believed in the owners right to influence papers, and absolutely despised journalists (and employees in general*), especially those who wanted to talk about such unimportant issues such as human rights or the environment, as an independent entity. He tried his hardest to break that barrier, and succeeded – at least for a while.
Next, Conrad sues like there’s no tomorrow. Mostly, because he can. One time, he sued John Partridge at the Globe and Mail for suggesting Black had “doubtful ethics”. A more amusing example is when he sued the sitting Prime Minister Jean Chrétien for “abuse of power”, essentially because he wouldn’t grant Black the ability to get a special title – this case was dismissed, naturally. He had also sued former co-workers, the same authour twice and one of his most latest libel suits which I will discuss at another time (these names will also be involved: Paul B. Healy, James R. Thompson, Richard D. Burt, Shmuel Meitar and Henry A. Kissinger).
He wields his immaculate and exceptional wealth in order to silence academic and otherwise “opponents”. You question his ethics, he will sue. You deny his whim, he sues. Your propagate damning reports, he sues. Always without any self-awareness to his privilege and wealth (or maybe he pretends, but that would be truly malicious), he uses the very same to intimidate and chill. Black, your character ought to be defamed – your reputation is not a good one, nor should it be.
*The only postal strike in the history of the United States collapsed after two hours when President Richard Nixon instructed the National Guard to deliver the mail. Ten years ago Ronald Reagan gave a well-remembered cram-course in how to deal with striking air-controllers… There is nothing sacred about the right to strike, in the public or the private sector. All have a right not to be exploited, abused, or capriciously treated by their employers. All have the right to quit their jobs. –Conrad Black (8)
Effectively he is saying: if you don’t like the way your employer treats you, quit. That’s all you get.
Special thanks to Black Envy and Guerrilla Media (defunct).
(1)Conrad Black, The Financial Post, (letters), July 18, 1989.
(2) Conrad Black, F. David Radler, and Peter G. White, ‘A Brief to the Special Senate Committee on the Mass Media from the Sherbrooke Record, the voice of the Eastern Townships,’ November 7, 1969, p.10.
(3) Conrad Black, The Financial Post, May 19, 1988.
(4) Conrad Black, From Black’s speech to the CAJ, April 9, 1994.
(5)Conrad Black, A Life in Progress (Toronto: Key Porter Books, 1993), p.504
(6)Right-wing media covering up political scandal, By Frances Russell, Winnipeg Free Press December 12, 2007
(7)The Establishment Man: A Portrait of Power, By Peter C. Newman, McClelland and Stewart, 1982, Pg. 22
(8)Conrad Black, The Financial Post, September 18, 1991.
