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Media Beat: November 15, 2021

By David Farrell

Future of Rogers senior executives still unclear after court ruling

A B.C. Supreme Court ruling has resolved uncertainty over who sits on the board of Rogers Communications Inc., but the future of the telecom and media giant’s senior leadership team remains unclear.


More than a month after company chair Edward Rogers attempted to oust the chief executive officer and other senior executives, triggering a spectacular boardroom showdown that split the Rogers family, Joe Natale remains at the helm of Canada’s largest wireless carrier.

Analysts said on Monday that Mr. Rogers may preserve the management team at least until after the proposed $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. is complete. – Alexandra Posadzki, The Globe and Mail

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Is Natale out as CEO of Rogers?

Experts surveyed by the Star predict he is — it’s just a matter of timing

Most executives have not spoken publicly about their plans at the company. But in an affidavit filed last week, Rogers’ wireless business president David Fuller implied he would not want to be part of a new management team designed by Edward.

“The reason I joined Rogers was because of the opportunity to work with Joe Natale,” Fuller wrote. “My strong preference would be to continue to do so.” – Jacob Lorinc, The Star

Edward Rogers won the war — but that victory may still cost his company dearly

The decision by Rogers Communications Inc. to not appeal a court decision last week handed company chair Edward Rogers a decisive victory in his battle for control of the telecom company that bears his family name.

Long-simmering tensions at the family-run company spilled out into the open last month, giving ordinary Canadians an unprecedented glimpse into the behind-the-scenes details at play with the powerful family.

While the ruling handed the keys of the castle to Edward Rogers for the foreseeable future, the costs associated with his win may make for a pyrrhic victory — making it even harder for him to fix the mismanagement and stock underperformance that he says has plagued the company for years.

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The legal costs of the fight alone are not insignificant. – Pete Evans, CBC News

Leaked Facebook document shows how often the company restores posts

An internal memo titled “Appeal Rate per country” includes a chart of the top 38 countries by the number of posts taken down by Facebook in a single month in 2019. The U.S. tops the chart with almost 2.6 million “takedowns” during that period; Canada is 38th, with a little more than 123,000.

The chart shows a large discrepancy between the percentage of removed posts that are restored in Europe and North America (where it ranges from 2.8 percent to 5 percent) and countries in Asia, South America and the Middle East (where it ranges from 0.8 percent to 1.8 percent). – Marco Chown Oved, The Star

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Perry Bamonte of The Cure performs at Shoreline Amphitheatre on June 2, 2000 in Mountain View, Calif.
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

Perry Bamonte of The Cure performs at Shoreline Amphitheatre on June 2, 2000 in Mountain View, Calif.

Music News

Perry Bamonte, The Cure’s Guitarist & Keyboardist, Dead at 65 After ‘a Short Illness’

He "was a warm hearted and vital part of The Cure story," the band said in a statement.

Perry Bamonte, The Cure‘s guitarist and keyboardist, died over the Christmas break, the band announced in a message posted to its website on Friday (Dec. 26). The musician was 65 years old.

“It is with enormous sadness that we confirm the death of our great friend and bandmate Perry Bamonte, who passed away after a short illness at home over Christmas,” the Grammy-nominated band began its statement. “Quiet, intense, intuitive, constant and hugely creative, ‘Teddy’ was a warm-hearted and vital part of The Cure story.”

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