Conrad Black lands talk-show deal
Former publishing kingpin to co-host weekly TV forum
Now that he’s out of prison, former newspaper publisher Conrad Black is heading to TV.
Black will co-host a weekly TV talk show with former CBC Radio and MuchMusic executive Denise Donlon, to be produced by Moses Znaimer’s ZoomerMedia.
Dubbed The Zoomer, the show will debut on ZoomerMedia’s Vision TV channel.
“The current plan is 26 episodes to start,” Leanne Wright, ZoomerMedia spokeswoman, said in an email.
“Lord Have Mercy, Black is Back!” reads promotional material for the program.
ZoomerMedia is shopping the Canadian talk show this week to international buyers at a broadcast convention in Miami. The show will feature “Talk Black” segments with Black pontificating on some of his favourite pet peeves — including the U.S. judicial system, prison reform, gun control and the world financial crisis.
Co-host Denise Donlon will round out the show with a “Zoomer Roundtable” where panellists will discuss baby boomer-centric issues while being “enlivened by humour, cooking and live performances,” promotional material says.
Several appearances on British TV last fall seem to show the former National Post founder retains his penchant for combative discussion.
Black not only protested his innocence but also called BBC host Jeremy Paxman a “fool” and talked openly about “being able to endure a discussion like this without getting up and smashing your face in.”
The Toronto-born former media mogul, who through Hollinger Inc. once owned a chain of newspapers including those Canadian papers now owned by Postmedia Network, was released from a Florida prison in May 2012 after serving time on charges of fraud and obstruction of justice.
After being freed from U.S. prison, Black returned to Toronto, where he and his wife, Barbara Amiel, a Canadian citizen, have a home.