Media Roundup: Radler Direct

The media reports on the Conrad Black trial, webbed overnight, have jumped in number, and have propagated to otherwise-unfamiliar venues for this trial:

1. The Chicago Tribune's report details Mr. Radler's testimony, including the two key parts that, according to the prosecution, prove motive - "'In the late 1990s, the management fees started to decrease and debt started piling up... We were both concerned with the fact that there was a debt problem,' he said, referring to conversations he had with Black." - and opportunity: "'I did not make a major financial decision without consulting Conrad Black,' Radler said."

2. From the Houston Chronicle, an Associated Press report that recounts the highlights of Mr. Radler's testimony yesterday. It was written by Mike Robinson.

3. Andrew Clark of the Guardian not only reports on Mr. Radler's testimony, including the part that explains what the prosecution considers to be sufficient motive - "We were both concerned with the fact that there was a debt problem at Ravelston [which he had discussed privately with Mr. Black]... We had bank commitments and salary commitments, and we had to have enough income to take care of both of them."- but also recounts in detail the testimony of Jan Akerhielm about the surprise party for Mrs. Black. "According to the restaurant bill, the 94-strong party got through 18 bottles of 1993 Dom Pérignon champagne at $320 each. They enjoyed 26 bottles of Chassagne-Montrachet, 23 bottles of Clos de Vougeot and two bottles of Sancerre." At the end, the article passes along two questions during cross-examination, one dealing with the profession of the noted guests and the other asking Ms. Akerhielm to confirm that she didn't know whether or not business was conducted at that party.

4. From NineMSN.com, a report that balances the defense argument with Mr. Radler's testimony, and ends with comment from Mr. Black, in French: "Black, who has the habit of only answering questions in French, told reporters "I have no comment until the defense finishes with this witness[' testimony]." ("Je n'a aucun commentaire avant que la defense termine avec cette temoinage.") (Cet temoinard, il est un termine, selon des éspérances du défense. Sorry; I couldn't resist.) Near its beginning, the report also notes a mistake made by Mr. Radler near the beginning of his testimony, one noted earlier by CTV's David Akin.

5. The Hamilton Spectator has webbed an abridged report by Romina Maurino, entitled "End of a friendship."

6. From the Daily Herald of Illinois, a report that starts off with: "Prosecutors worked hard Monday to paint a picture of Conrad Black and his second in command, David Radler, as a couple of ambitious entrepreneurs who met in their mid-20s, took personal trips together, attended each other’s marriages and often drove long distances together to buy remote community newspapers — a journey that would result in one of the world’s largest newspaper chains." It also mentions that cross-examination could start as early as today.

7. The Ottawa Citizen has webbed the latest from Mary Vallis, which notes that the jurors' interest was visibly lost when Mr. Radler began going into the details of the American Trucker transaction. It also passes along an admission by Mr. Radler that he communicated with Mr. Black by fax and memo; he "did not... send the company chairman e-mails, saying he 'didn't know how.'" In addition, its second paragraph states that "[h]e stopped short... of making what is expected to be the prosecution's main point -- that Lord Black and three former Hollinger International executives cooked up a non-compete scheme to steal money from the company when they realized other sources of income were running out." This 'stop' will almost certainly turn into 'go' today.

8. Also by Ms. Vallis and webbed by the Citizen, a full-length article descibing the testimony of Ms. Akerheilm about the birthday party, including excerpts from the menu. At the end, the report notes, deadpan, that the defense established that the audit committee members were in attendance too.

9. The Washington Post has webbed a Bloomberg report on yesterday's testimony from Mr. Radler.

10. The National Post's Theresa Tedesco has written a feature report on Mr. Radler's testimony that concentrates upon his bearing and demeanor, as well as his testimony. It also recounts the testimony of Ms. Akerhielm, Mr. Black's "patrician former secretary at Hollinger International Inc.," and "six exhibits [introduced during her testimony] offering titillating morsels of a $62,000 surprise birthday party for Barbara Amiel at a swishy French restaurant in New York."

11. An article by Paul Waldie of the Globe and Mail reports that "Mr. Radler spoke clearly and frequently addressed his comments directly to the jury rather than prosecutor Eric Sussman." It focuses upon Mr. Radler's recounting of the their business activities in the 1970s and the 1980s, including the days right after Conrad Black had won control of Argus Corp.

12. The Toronto Star's Jennifer Wells has written a lively report that starts off with a description of Mr. Radler as "The rat. The traitor. The turncoat." It also brings up Mr. Radler's mistaken dating of the year he first met Mr. Black, with this reaction: "Lordy, lordy. For a brief second I thought the entire trial should be tossed right out the window onto Dearborn Ave,, for if the star witness, who has pleaded guilty to fraud and is co-operating with the prosecution, can't remember when he met the man of the hour after days of coaching, then what is one to do?" The rest of her report continues in a similar vein while working in the meat of Mr. Radler's testimony.

13. Peter Worthington is still on the trial beat; his latest column has been webbed by the Calgary Sun. He described Mr. Radler as "tanned and mildly furtive," but also noted that "[t]hose who expected (or hoped for) Radler to implode or disintegrate were in for a shock." He's the only one to mention that Conrad Black's relative relaxation was not shared by Mrs. Black, who fixed Mr. Radler with a "venomous stare." Mr. Worthington also offers the assessment that "[s]o far, there is very little paper trail extending to Black. Most of Radler's dealings with him were by phone or in person. Virtually no faxes, e-mails or memos came from Black to Radler, but many from Radler to Black."

14. From Mary Wisniewski of the Chicago Sun-Times, a report entitled "Radler: We were a team" and sub-titled, "STAR WITNESS: 'I didn't make a financial decision without consulting Conrad Black'" Near its end, it sketches out what the defense hopes to show in cross-examination.

15. The Times Online has a report by James Bone, entitled "Black faces newest foe – his deputy." It has a different take on Mr. Radler's recounting of the early history of his and Mr. Black's business relationship, highlighting the cultural differences between the two. In addition, it mentions that Conrad Black's accession to a life peerage did rub Mr. Radler raw. Also from it: "Lord Black has left no doubt about his contempt for Mr Radler’s decision to testify against him. Before the trial he said that he was looking forward to what he said would be a three-day cross-examination of Mr Radler 'after which there will be nothing left of him'." The report ends with a brief recounting of Ms. Akerhielm's testimony.

16. Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown's latest focuses on David Radler looking good on the witness stand.

17. The Halifax Chronicle-Herald has another abridgement of a report by Romina Maurino, entitled "Black knew about dealings at heart of fraud case, Radler tells court."

18. Another item from the Sun-Times: a joke at Conrad Black's expense in today's "Random Thoughts" by columnist Elliot Harris.

19. From Editor and Publisher, an article by Mark Fitzgerald entitled "Star Witness Radler Says He And Black Were Joined At Hip." It notes that "Radler was calm in the witness stand, often laughing at little glitches in the proceedings, and chuckling while answering the prosecutor’s questions," and then mentions that the defense's objections gave him a foretaste of the cross-examination. It also mentions that, unlike Conrad Black, "Edward Genson... moved his seat so he could stare directly at Radler through the testimony." Like several of the others linked to in this page, it ends with Ms. Akerhielm's testimony.

20. The Tribune's media columnist, Phil Rosenthal, focuses on the fact that David Radler was oddly formal in his reference to Conrad Black. "It was reminiscent of those wealthy families one hears about where the kids get sent off to boarding school as soon as they're toilet trained and call their dads 'Sir.' But maybe that's the formality demanded by a guy like Black, who renounced his Canadian citizenship so he could acquire a British title. Who knows?" He ends with noting an objection, overruled by Judge St. Eve, that "pointed out it had taken an hour for the prosecution and Radler to cover five years of their relationship, a span that preceded the period of Black's alleged transgressions by more than 20 years."

21. CBC News: Morning aired an interview with Richard Siklos, author of Shades of Black, at approximately 7:45 AM. He reported that the jury will hear the story of Mr. Black's and Mr. Radler's recent business relationship for the first time today. The prosecution has proved that they were “pretty tight” for many years. Mr. Radler was “curiously at ease” but did squint and was startled by some noises. Conrad Black loosened up too as the afternoon wore on. The jury was a little “sleepy” but was “7 out of 10 engaged.” When asked by anchor Andrew Nichols if this intermittent attention was bad for the prosecution, Mr. Siklos replied that they were more interested in the party details, implying that it's impossible to tell. He further opined that the jury will pay attention to the cross-examination.

Formally, it will be easy for Eddie Greenspan to show that Mr. Radler has been untruthful, in the sense that his admissions have contradicted his previous statements, and it will be easy to show that Radler was at the heart of the transactions covered by the charges.

22. Also on CBC News: Morning, an interview with correspondent Havard Gould, who's covering the trial for CBC News. He reported that the prosecution will outline “the scheme” today, which will get to the meat of the their case. There was “high anticipation” as Mr. Radler entered the courtroom. He concurred with Mr. Siklos’ comment about Mr. Black's relaxation, and he did mention the date slipup by Mr. Radler. When the proceedings ended for the day, Conrad Black shot a cold stare at his former partner.

23. BNN had an interview with Amanda Lang, aired at 8:25 AM ET. She reported that David Radler did “surprisingly well” – even better than the prosecution team itself has done. He reached the events of 1998 by the end of yesterday's session. The part covered by the indictment will be dealt with today. Mr. Black didn’t look much at Mr. Radler, but he did made notes intently. She observed, in concordance with Mr. Gould, that Conrad Black had shot the “steeliest glance” she had ever seen at Mr. Radler at the end of the day; the latter didn’t look at him then. The early part of the tale had a certain human interest, as did seeing one former partner turning on the other. Today's testimony will get into the “nitty gritty,” in which the prosecution must prove that there was a conspiracy. The defense will watch closely for suppositional language.

24. David Akin made an appearance on CTV NewsNet this morning, and had this to report: The prosecution will “reinforce” the picture of tight-knittedness painted yesterday. Eric Sussman and the other prosecutors have anticipated the defense argument that geographical separation implied business separation. The lifestyles and locales of Mr. Radler and Mr. Black were very different. The prosecution continually implied, though, that the two were in close contact, which is a major theme of Mr. Radler's testimony. When Mr. Akin was asked whether or not motive was testified about by CTV NewsNet anchor Marcia MacMillan, he answered that Mr. Radler said that the management fees for Ravelston were shrinking, and its debts needed to be serviced. Thus, Ravelston needed more money; for this purpose, the two came up with the idea of the non-compete agreements. Mr. Akin also brought up the prosecution's image management for Mr. Radler, aimed at making him seem approachable in contradisctinction to the “aristocratic” Black. This image retool may make it easier for jury to identify with him.

25. The New York Post has a report by Janet Whitman, entitled "Black-Stabber." The first paragraph is at odds with the image of the sleepy jury: "Jurors at Conrad Black's fraud trial scribbled furiously in their notebooks yesterday as the dethroned newspaper baron's turncoat deputy took the stand for the first time and began to testify about his old boss' alleged skullduggery." She not only notes Mr. Radler's attire, but also Mr. Black's.

26. A brief AP summary of Mr. Radler's testimony has been webbed by the Cincinnati Post. [A slightly different one has been webbed by Australia's Victoria Herald-Sun.]

27. The fourth item in AP's "Executive Morning Briefing," webbed by Forbes.com, has an even briefer, one-paragraph, summary.

28. Paul Waldie's second report of the day has also been webbed by the Globe and Mail. It starts off by anticipates a "gruelling" cross-examination, which will be started off by Csr. Greenspan. "The showdown with Mr. Radler is expected to be gripping because much is riding on his testimony. He is the only witness prosecutors have lined up so far to prove that Lord Black and the others conspired to take millions of dollars from Hollinger." The rest of it reviews Mr. Radler's testimony so far.

29. A CP summary has been webbed by the Orillia Packet and Times.

30. From CTV News, a report with description and analysis of Mr. Radler's testimony so far by Steve Skurka.

31. The First Post has yet another report on Mr. Radler's testimony by Paul Waldie.

32. The Maisonneuve article "Strip-Mining Canadian Business" has a one-paragraph item, entitled "Radler Rats On Black."

33. A brief report webbed by 680 News, quotes law professor Steve Landsman, who said to "Global News that this could very well be the turning point of the trial.

"'Having someone inside in these sorts of matters is often critical and whether you believe them is where the decision is going to be made,' he said."

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The Globe and Mail has a related item, which features rapper Ice-T: it's a defense of snitching.