WIC o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-10-08 published
Shock, sadness over
ASPER
Former movie ticket taker rose to prominence as one of Canada's
biggest media moguls
By Richard
BLACKWELL Media Reporter Wednesday, October 8, 2003
- Page B1
Canada's business, media and political elite expressed shock
and sadness at the death of Izzy
ASPER, the colourful Winnipeg
media mogul who died yesterday at the age of 71.
Mr. ASPER built CanWest Global Communications Corp. into a national
television and newspaper powerhouse, and more recently spent
some of his fortune on charitable and philanthropic causes.
Israel ASPER, known to everyone as Izzy, was admitted to St.
Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg at 9: 30 yesterday morning, and
died soon after, surrounded by his wife and children.
CanWest spokesman Geoffrey
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT said he had no information
on the cause of Mr.
ASPER's death, although it was "obviously
sudden."
The funeral is set for tomorrow.
Mr. ASPER smoked heavily for years and had a serious heart attack
at age 50.
A tax lawyer who for a time was leader of the Liberal Party in
Manitoba, Mr.
ASPER built CanWest Global from a single television
station in Winnipeg into its current status as one of Canada's
biggest media empires.
Colleagues and Friends praised him for his business successes
and community work.
Conrad BLACK, who sold Mr.
ASPER the Southam newspaper chain
in 2000 to cement CanWest's position as Canada's leading media
company, described him in an interview yesterday as "a charming
informal character [with] never a hint of self-importance despite
his great success." And that success was legendary, Lord
BLACK
said.
"The man started out taking tickets in a cinema in Minnedosa,
and he, as of this morning, was the premier figure in the Canadian
media. That's quite a career."
Lord BLACK noted that Mr.
ASPER "had a reputation, in some circles,
for being very litigious [but] I always found him a joy to deal
with."
"We never had any difficultly reaching an agreement, and you
never had to worry for an instant that the agreement would be
followed up by him to the letter. "
Prime
Minister
Jean
CHRÉTIEN issued a statement in which he called
Mr. ASPER "a great personal friend and one of the finest and
most able individuals I have ever had the privilege of knowing."
Ivan FECAN, president and chief executive officer of Bell Globemedia
and Chief Executive Officer of CTV Inc., described Mr.
ASPER
as "a great entrepreneur, a brilliant competitor, and a true
original."
Onex
Corp. chief executive officer Gerald
SCHWARTZ, who was a
protégé of Mr.
ASPER's and helped found the CanWest empire, said
he "left a legacy of pride for his family, a television network
for all Canadians, and a business empire for his colleagues.
His leadership in the Canadian Jewish community is a loss that
will not easily be overcome."
Mr. ELLIOT/ELLIOTT, who has worked with Mr.
ASPER for the past four
years, described him as "a visionary, but at the same time he
was very human and very approachable."
Mr. ASPER's death raises questions about the future of CanWest
Global, the conglomerate that owns Southam newspapers, the National
Post, the Global television network, specialty television channels,
and broadcasting operations in New Zealand, Australia and Ireland.
While Mr. ASPER was chairman of CanWest, he had given up the
chief executive officer responsibilities to his son Leonard
ASPER
in 1999, and retired from day-to-day management responsibilities
earlier this year.
His main preoccupations were two charitable foundations, the
ASPER
Foundation and the CanWest Global Foundation.
Still, Mr.
ASPER was seen as the driving force behind the company's
strategy, right up to the end.
Some people close to the company said yesterday that Mr.
ASPER
exercised so much strategic control, even in retirement, that
the company could be plunged into turmoil. Operations could be
restructured, and new partnerships and financings put in place.
CanWest's Mr.
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT said a succession plan has been in effect
for "quite some time," and there are unlikely to be any significant
changes in the strategy of the company because of Mr.
ASPER's
death.
"There's a strong depth of long-term management at CanWest at
the corporate level," he said.
The CanWest world
Canada
Publishing
-National Post
-CanWest Publications (Incl. 16 daily newspapers and 50 other
publications)
Media Marketing and Sales
-CanWest Media Sales
-Integrated Business Solutions
Entertainment - Production and Distribution
-Fireworks Entertainment (film and television production)
Television Broadcasting
-Global Television Network (Incl. 11 television stations across
Canada)
-independent stations (Incl. Hamilton, Montreal and Vancouver
Island)
-Canadian Broadcasting Corporation affiliate stations (Incl.
Kelowna and Red Deer)
-Specialty Television (Incl. Prime TV, Fox Sportsworld Canada,
Mystery -45% Xtreme Sports, Men television - 49% Deja View, Lonestar)
Radio Broadcasting
-CJZZ FM Winnipeg
Production Services
-Apple Box Productions (commercial production)
-StudioPost Film Labs (post-production services)
-CanWest Studios (sound stage)
-WIC Mobile Production (live event mobile units)
New Media
-CanWest Interactive
-canada.com Interent Portal
-Financial Post Data Group
-Informart
International
Entertainment - Production and Distribution
-Fireworks Pictures (U.S., feature film distribution)
-Fireworks Television (U.S., television production)
-Fireworks International (Britain, International television distributor)
-CanWest Entertainment
International Distribution
(Republic of Ireland)
New Media
-Internet Broadcasting Systems (U.S. - 18%)
-LifeServ Corp. (U.S. - 25%)
Television Broadcasting
-Five stations in: New Zealand (2); Australia 57.5%; Northern
Ireland 29.9%; Republic of Ireland 45%
Radio Broadcasting - New Zealand
-More FM (five stations)
-Channel Z (three stations)
-The Breeze (Wellington)
-4 National FM Networks
Out-of-Home Advertising - Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar,
Vietnam
-Eye Corp. (100% owned by Network Ten)
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WICKWARE o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-04-17 published
GOETTLER,
George
G.
Of Dublin, Ontario, died suddenly Tuesday, April 15, 2003 in
his 82nd year. Predeceased by his beloved wife
Ally
LOOBY in
1995. Loving father of Jo-Ann
WICKWARE of Burlington, Thomas
GOETTLER of Guelph, Pauline
HARTFIEL of Mitchell, and Stephen
GOETTLER of Dublin. Cherished Papa to Kathryn, Suzanne and Alan
WICKWARE,
Stephen,
Paul and Matthew
HARTFIEL, and Kathleen, George
and Donald
GOETTLER. Survived by sisters Margaret
RODGERS,
London,
Hélène DUCHARME,
Canton,
Michigan, and brother John (Jack)
GOETTLER,
London.
Predeceased by parents Louis and Sarah
(McCAFFREY,) sisters
Evelyn DISLER,
Dorothy
WALSH and Mary, brothers Edgar and Fred
and by infant granddaughter Ann
HARTFIEL.
George served with
the Canadian Army overseas in the Second World War. He was a
member of the Knights of Columbus, Father Stephen Eckert Council,
for fifty years. In 1952, he came to Dublin and began a merchant
career that spanned half a century and includes the present day
G.G. Goettler group of companies, which he founded with his wife
in 1978. Visitation will be at the Lockhart Funeral Home, 109
Montreal Street, Mitchell Thursday and Friday evenings, 6: 00 to
9: 00 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Patrick's
Roman Catholic Church, Dublin, Saturday, April 19 at 11 a.m.
with Reverend Maurice
CHARBONNEAU officiating. In lieu of flowers,
expressions of sympathy may be made to L'Arche (Stratford) through
the funeral home at (519) 348-8643.
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