Ted Rogers dies at 75

Ted Rogers, the head of Canada's largest magazine publisher, held within a much larger media, cable and wireless company, has died at the age of 75. He had suffered for many years from a heart condition.

Starting in 1960, while he was still an articling law student, he borrowed enough money to buy CHFI-FM in Toronto, at a time when it was the only FM station in Canada. He then used a certain amount of financial derring-do and a lot of borrowed money to build a diversified empire, getting in early on wireless telephones, the internet and buying the Toronto Blue Jays (whose home park now bears the Rogers name).

In 1994, Rogers Communications Inc. purchased Maclean-Hunter, acquiring 70 consumer and business-to-business magazines, digital properties and directories in Canada that became Rogers Publishing Limited, including Maclean's, Canada's weekly newsmagazine; its French-language equivalent, L'actualité; Chatelaine; and Flare. Rogers Publishing was later joined with existing radio and television operations under the umbrella Rogers Media Inc.

[Photo: Peter Redman/Financial Post]

Other coverage:

• Cable giant Ted Rogers dead at 75 (CBC)
• Communications giant Ted Rogers dies at 75 (Globe and Mail)
• Ted Rogers dies at 75 (National Post)
• Thanks, Ted (Magazines Canada)
• Uncertain future for Ted Rogers' company (Toronto Star)