❗Help close the gap: We still need to raise $40,000 by the end of March. Donate now

Media circus comes to town

Marketplace Staff Mar 14, 2007
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Media circus comes to town

Marketplace Staff Mar 14, 2007
HTML EMBED:
COPY

TEXT OF STORY

MARK AUSTIN THOMAS: The circus is coming to Chicago today. Media Mogul Conrad Black goes on trial for fraud there this morning. As Chicago Public Radio’s Gabriel Spitzer reports, the trial may play as a corporate scandal here, but it’s also top-shelf celebrity gossip abroad.


GABRIEL SPITZER: Black cuts a larger-than-life figure in his native Canada and his adopted homeland of England. He’s known for expensive tastes and lavish parties.

That’s partially what got him in trouble. Prosecutors say Black paid for some of those luxuries with money siphoned from the public company he ran.

Along with four other executives, Black is accused of looting Hollinger International to the tune of about $84 million. The company owned The Chicago Sun-Times, the London Daily Telegraph and the Jerusalem Post, among others.

Black maintains that he’s completely innocent and has made no secret that he plans to sue many of his accusers. He says he’s looking forward to court.

CONRAD BLACK: It’s better than two years of just being defamed, attacked, having your property seized with no due process, no notice. This will be justice.

Potential witnesses include Henry Kissinger, who sat on Hollinger’s board of directors.

If convicted, Black could face up to 101 years in prison and $7 million in fines.

In Chicago, I’m Gabriel Spitzer for Marketplace.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.