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Recent Press Releases (U.S. and international) for magazine issues and staff changes may be found below. Please note that for many issues there exists only a highlights sheet, while for others there may also be a full press release. The cover of FORTUNE's current issue is pictured at right. Please contact the appropriate communications staff member with any questions.
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CONRAD BLACK IS READY FOR HIS COMEBACK, REPORTS FORTUNE Media baron gives first interview in almost two years; plans to take Hollinger private New York, May 16, 2005—Conrad Black, CEO of Hollinger, the newspaper company he built and recently lost control of—last summer an independent panel of directors concluded Black was guilty of "corporate kleptocracy" by essentially pickpocketing $400 million from Hollinger International in management fees, lavish expenses, and murky non-compete agreements—does not plan to simply step aside, reports FORTUNE. In his first interview in almost two years, Black claims that his current situation "is not a permanent state of affairs." Despite several investigations—including one by the SEC—Black and his partners are hoping that in the next year or two they'll be back in control of the Hollinger media empire and out of the public eye. "Their plan is simple," reports FORTUNE's Barney Gimbel: "Take the company private. But it won't be easy." Black—through Ravelston, a holding company he controls—tried to buy out the remaining minority shareholders of Hollinger Inc. in March, only to be thwarted by Canadian authorities. "Since then his predicament has gotten worse," says Gimbel. "The day after the privatization bid failed, the independent directors who run Hollinger Inc., led by chairman Gordon Walker, filed a $500 million suit against Black and Ravelston for 'acting in bad faith and in a manner calculated to benefit themselves to the detriment of Hollinger.' And in April an Ontario judge appointed a receiver to take over cash-poor Ravelston." Black and his partners still own Ravelston, which controls the majority of Hollinger Inc. Yet they're effectively powerless while Ravelston is in receivership. When that changes, it's always possible U.S. and Canadian authorities could throw a wrench in any future deal by prosecuting him anew. And even if he gets his company back, says Gimbel, he may not stay in the newspaper business. "It's not a growth industry," says Black. "But when we get to that happy day, I will throw myself like a college freshman on orientation day into finding new ventures and opportunities." # # # For further information please contact:
Amy Mahfouz
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