‘Scud Stud’ part of his brand, says Arthur Kent

Former TV journalist takes stand at trial

CALGARY • Former television journalist Arthur Kent says the term “Scud Stud” isn’t just a nickname — it’s his brand and part of his identity.

Kent was on the witness stand Wednesday at a defamation trial that pits him against Postmedia and columnist Don Martin, author of a 2008 article critical of the former reporter who was running to win a seat in the Alberta legislature for the Progressive Conservatives.

Headlined “’Scud Stud’ a ‘Dud’ on the Campaign Trail,” the piece portrayed Kent as an out-of-control star candidate facing a revolt from his election team. He went on to lose the vote.

Kent became known by his nickname during his live reports on American television from Saudi Arabia as Scud missiles were being fired during the Gulf War in the early 1990s.

He testified the name came from a young reporter at an NBC station in San Francisco.

He said it was overheard on an open line by staff in New York and was quickly adopted by news agencies such as the Associated Press as well as New York newspapers.

“By the time we had concluded our broadcasts and I got up the next morning it was real. It was a fact,” he said. “Our team at NBC and I treated it as a measure of dark wartime humour. We took the work we had been doing to garner this phenomenal attention very seriously and thus the nickname is something more than just a nickname,” Kent said.

“Since that time it has become part of my brand — part of my identity. Colleagues, when they come to write about me in proceedings such as this, it’s a quick way to remind everybody of something that occurred in my career.”

Kent said the fame allowed him to rub elbows with celebrities such as Canadian actor Kim Cattrall.

He’s discussed his career on the talk-show circuit with Johnny Carson and David Letterman.

The Martin article used unnamed sources and didn’t include any comment from Kent. Two of those sources have since been identified as senior Tory staffers Alan Hallman and Rod Love.

Kent said he heard Hallman’s name when Kent decided to run for the nomination and was told he should consider hiring him as his campaign manager.

But after looking into Hallman’s past, he informed him he would not be a good fit, he said.

“He responded not long after ... saying: ‘No one has more admiration for candidates than I. Your email was rude. All the best, Art,”’ said Kent, who added he heard from Hallman again on election night, when the Tories won.

“Subject line: ‘Massive majority and you lost. Well done. Call any time,’ ” Kent recalled. “He was sneering.”