"I Started as a Broadcaster, I Have it in My Bones."

CANADIAN CABLE MAGNATE Ted Rogers died yesterday at the age of 75.

You can get hits of the standard obituary here and here.

What I'll remember about Rogers, though, the few times I saw him publicly, was that he didn't have any hint of the noblesse oblige that often characterizes those in "the establishment" in Canada. It's a secret that's open and not really talked about, but Canada hasn't really strayed too far from its Family Compact roots. But Rogers could be seen talking to front line guys and truck drivers. And to me, his legacy is summed up perfectly in his last appearance before the CRTC. He was a businessman, an uncommonly successful one to be sure...but in these days where business means thinking of bottom line and not anything else (until the bottom drops out and you come begging) Rogers still thought about the big picture, and what it meant for Canada.

Enough that he'd occasionally speak out against his own execs, as recounted in this excerpt from a National Post Story from April 9, 2008, written by Barbara Schecter:

In a startling performance as three weeks of hearings kicked off to overhaul the rules for the first time in 15 years, Ted Rogers, the chief executive of Rogers Communications, disagreed on more than one occasion with his own executives.

In one example, while chief regulatory officer Ken Engel-hart, vice-chairman Phil Lind and a handful of other managers at Rogers urged the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to abolish "genre protection" to allow greater competition between Canadian specialty channels, Mr. Rogers told CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein the current system should be left in place rather than introducing harmful, unfettered competition.

Mr. Rogers' executive team argued that greater competition is necessary because it will lead to better services and keep viewers from leaving in favour of the Internet or illegal foreign satellite TV distributors.

"I started as a broadcaster and I have it in my bones," Mr. Rogers explained, noting his early days in the radio and television industries in which Rogers Communications continues to have holdings. "My friends are representing the BDUs [cable companies], and so am I," he said. "As a broadcaster, I would say, 'what's the problem?' "

"And as a BDU, you would say there is a problem?" said Mr. von Finckenstein to laughter from the packed hearing room in Gatineau, Que.

Mr. Rogers also appeared to drift from the script on a proposal by Rogers Communications to allow more U.S. specialty channels into Canada, provided they wouldn't put a Canadian channel out of business. He told Mr. von Finckenstein he hoped the proposed "viability test" would rarely be used, even if the CRTC adopts the plan. "I personally hope it wouldn't be very often. We can't stand it. We're a fragile industry in this country," Mr. Rogers said.

Mr. von Finckenstein later referred to Mr. Rogers' "discordant voice" when he again appeared to depart from the company position, this time on the subject of "targeted" advertising.

Relaxing regulations to allow cable firms and broadcasters to sell advertising in on-demand programming and, eventually, premium advertising in traditional broadcasts targeted to specific residences based on viewing habits, is being pitched as a way to give broadcasters more revenue in lieu of controversial "fees for carriage" they are seeking.

Mr. Rogers said privacy issues are likely to prevent from inserting advertising based on viewing habits. But other Rogers executives said what the company is planning is no different from the types of targeted advertising already displayed on the Internet.

I fear that Rogers' type of broadcaster is all but gone now. He will be missed.