Blog post at the Montreal Gazette by their techno-writer:
Guy can never get an interview with Bell about anything. All of a Bell calls him out of the blue to set up an interview w/ the regulatory VP. They want to get the message out that Bell is great and how this deal will be the best thing since sliced bread for Canada.
Bell getting nervous about Astral opposition
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blogs.montrealgazette.co ··· osition/Today, newspaper sites around the country have been buzzing with news about a new proposal by Bell to put up an $80 million fund.
But this fund was announced way back in April, when Bell first announced its intention to purchase Astral Media for $3.4 billion.
Why are we re-hearing about this now?
Well, it seems the countrys largest telecom company, and the largest media company is getting a bit hot under the collar as opposition gathers to its proposed purchase, which will be the subject of hearings in Montreal next month.
Today, the company issued a press release to re-announce the $80 million fund, which in Bells defence received scant coverage by the media when the Astral deal was announced.
How nervous is Bell about this new opposition campaign? To give you an idea, as a reporter I often have difficulty even reaching the companys PR spokesperson with a question. When I do, I often just get a carefully crafted paragraph with the companys official position emailed to me just in time for deadline, and no occasion to actually interview a human being.
Yesterday for the first time I can remember, a PR agent for Bell called me minutes after my web story was posted and offered me an interview with one of the companys top executives regulatory affairs VP Mirko Bibic.
With a new CRTC chairman at the helm, and an increasingly hostile dialogue building between Bell and its competitors, it should make for excellent theatre at the CRTC hearings.lol too funny. can't wait to see what Bell has to spew in this interview.
Maybe Mirko will state they will create 500 million jobs, donate a billion dollars to charity, send each person in Canada a voucher for 2$ off their Bell internet (sent just before the 5$ price increase), and the economy will never again hit a depreesion. But only if Bell can buy Astral.
Can't wait to see the giggles.