Media Roundup: Landing's Ryan

The media reports, webbed overnight and today, on the Conrad Black trial are becoming less numerous and more variegated, as side issues slip through:

1. From the Edmonton Journal, a Canadian Press report that combines forecasts, that the testimony will end next week and closing arguments will start June 18th, with a brief recap of Patrick Ryan's testimony.

2. Joe Warmington's latest column, webbed by the Calgary Sun, has a profile of Eddie Greenspan, which starts off with a description of his growing reputation in Chicago as a trial lawyer.

3. Also from the Journal, a recap of Mr. Ryan's testimony, given while under direct examination, about the 2002 meeting he had had with the Hollinger International audit committee to make sure that the amounts of the non-compete payments had been approved. [An expanded version of the same report, by Mary Vallis and webbed by the National Post, says that there will be testimony today on page 2 of it.]

4. Rick Westhead of the Toronto Star also recounts Mr. Ryan's testimony, under direct examination.

5. The Chicago Sun-Times' Mary Wisniewski has written a two-paragraph write-up on the highlights of Mr. Ryan's testimony.

6. The New York Post has an excerpt from a Bloomberg report, which summarizes yesterday's testimony of an earlier witness, Ralph Neville.

7. Paul Waldie has written a report on what's left of Conrad Black's business holdings, webbed by the Globe and Mail. It notes that Ravelston isn't quite bankrupt; it's in receivership, but it could be put in bankruptcy by the end of this year. Hollinger Inc. has "announced that its 'ability to continue as a going concern is uncertain.'" Hollinger Int'l has has continual troubles of its own. [This abridged Bloomberg report explains some of them.] Mr. Black himself described his successors as "'charlatans.'"

8. The second report by Mr. Waldie today, also webbed by the Globe, says that three witness will appear today, all called by Mark Kipnis' counsel. "Lawyers for Mark Kipnis are expected to call three witnesses, two character witnesses and Christopher Paci, a lawyer who was involved in a financing by Hollinger International Inc." Peter Atkinson and Jack Boultbee are all finished. Conrad Black has reserved the right to "call a couple more." The rest of the report has a recap of Mr. Ryan's testimony; at its end, there is a couple of details on Mr. Ryan's modification of his testimony under direct. "[D]uring cross-examination by prosecutor Julie Ruder, Mr. Ryan refined his position. He said the committee did not approve the payments, but only approved the disclosure of the payments in the financial statements.

"Ms. Ruder also pointed out that Mr. Ryan had no idea what Mr. Thompson was thinking about the payments, or how much he knew about them."