[A-List] Conrad Black: implausible deniability

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Hollinger progressing well

Friday April 4, 2003
The Guardian

Your article about Hollinger Group (Black's empire pawns assets, April 3)
incites the inference that the company's financial position has deteriorated
and that there is some conflict between the interests of the controlling
shareholder and other shareholders. Neither is the case. The article
neglected to mention that almost all the losses referred to are non-cash
items, that the operating profit increased in the last year by $94m, that
the company's debt has been reduced by almost 75% in the last two-and-a-half
years, and that the company's effective interest rate on debt has been
sharply reduced.

The cautionary statements in the company's filings which you quoted are the
standard terminology now required by new US statutes and regulations for
compa nies with large shareholders. The company's financial condition is
satisfactory and its status as a securities' issuer has grown steadily
stronger and is similar to that of other well-known media companies. Its
wholly owned UK subsidiary, Telegraph Group, had a year-on-year increase in
operating income of 70.2%, from £19.1m to £32.6m, and a year-on-year
increase in EBITDA of 24.7%, from £32.9m to £41.1m, despite a 4.9% reduction
in operating revenue due to deterioration in the UK advertising climate.

Notwithstanding the operating revenue decline, the Daily Telegraph's market
share of national quality newspaper advertising revenue increased in 2002 by
approximately 1%.
Daniel W Colson
Vice-chairman, Hollinger International Inc