RE:RE:Honderich InterviewThat interview should leave everyone a bit speechless for a host of reasons. Here is the chairman of Torstar who has presided over unprecedented and massive shareholder value destruction shutting down the journalism internship program at the Toronto Star in a naked attempt to extort money out of the federal government. Suggesting that 1% of the CBC’s subsidy would pay for half the Star’s editorial budget is shameful. Free enterprise should not be beholding to government and furthermore aligning yourself with “Mr. Godfrey” is total and complete hypocrisy.
Employees should be both angry and embarrassed this played out in the pages of The Globe and Mail.
Throwing kudos to David Thomson and the Desmarais and ignoring the investment made by FFH is a slap in the face to Prem Watsa. The suggestion Honderich has scoured the country for a “Jeff Bezos” is also insulting to the intelligence of every Torstar investor and employee. Is everyone oblivious to the intentions of FFH because no one buys 41% of your B shares in a company fighting for survival for “investment purposes”.
The Voting Trust should hear from employees who’ve had enough of this charade. If things are as difficult and distressing that they require the shutdown of the internship program maybe they should fund the program out of their dividends and board fees. Honderich and the Voting Trust can stay true to the Atkinson Principles in a principled manner without asking taxpayers to pay the tab.
Finally, this is the kind of investor relations work that brings the shares to $1.52. You just can’t make this kind of incompetence up.