Did media giants conspire?

“A year after two of Canada’s media giants agreed to swap 41 newspapers, then quickly closed most of them, a federal probe into whether the deal broke the law took a step further by obtaining a court order to interview under oath one former and five current Torstar employees.

“The legal mess hanging over Torstar and Postmedia – and the loss of almost 300 media jobs — didn’t prevent top executives at both corporations from receiving millions in performance bonuses this year. Postmedia CEO Paul Godfrey raked in in $5 million, including his $1.2-million bonus. Torstar CEO John Boynton’s total compensation was $2.3 million, including a $740,000 bonus, but he only took on the job March 31.

“The 2017 swap, meanwhile, resulted in 36 newspapers, from Vancouver to Ottawa, shuttered. Each publication that ceased operations effectively ceded their markets to rivals that remained in business. And by no means were the saved papers the ones producing the better journalism.

“The Competition Bureau’s investigation hinges on whether Torstar and Postmedia knew, or even agreed ahead of time, which newspapers each would close after the swap. Postmedia’s Godfrey has declared that he and his team had no idea that Torstar would close the papers it acquired. Postmedia president Andrew MacLeod affirmed ‘the companies were extraordinarily careful not to share any knowledge about their plans for the properties after the transaction,’ reported the Financial Post.” First story here, second story here. — Bryan Carney