Ted Rogers (1933-2008), giant of Canadian tech and media

Americans who think of the media mogul named "Ted," reference Mr. Turner. In Canada, they reference Mr. Rogers. The senior salesperson, founder and CEO of Rogers Communications, died Tuesday morning in his home in Toronto. He was 75.

For Americans, Rogers could be described as a "Canadian Ted Turner," but the wireless, cable, Internet, media and sports entrepreneur is a story all his own.

And he wouldn't have much appreciated the comparison, one suspects. In an interview in early October, Rogers snorted at the prospect of an American-style financial meltdown making its way across the border: "We're more sound, more sane, more left-wing than the US. There are no Gordon Gekkos here. You know any? I don't."

Rogers -- a lifelong Conservative, by the way -- was, however, the man who introduced Canada to the junk bond. It's a small life that contains no contradictions.

His father was radio pioneer Edward Rogers, Sr., who invented the first AC-powered radio and did pioneering work on both TV and radar before dying rather young. The son got a very early start on mogul-dom, buying his first FM radio station while still a law student at Osgoode Hall despite having (as he put it) "van Gogh's ear for music," and despite just 3% of Canadians owning FM radios at the time. He was similarly out in front on cable (1967) and mobile-phone networks (1985).

At present, Rogers Communications owns Canada's largest wireless and cable providers; 70 publications; 52 radio stations; the OMNI, Sportsnet, and CityTV networks; The Shopping Channel; the Toronto Blue Jays, and Rogers Centre (formerly the SkyDome). The company reported consolidated revenues of $2,982,000,000 for Q3 2008, with per-share earnings of 78 cents (all amounts in Canadian currency).

Rogers was admitted to the hospital in late October for treatment of congestive heart failure; chairman Alan Horn was named acting CEO at that time. Rogers is survived by his wife Loretta, four children, and four grandchildren.

The company has announced that its board of directors will form a special committee to seek a new leader, and it's believed that Rogers' wishes -- which, according to Rogers' co-writer on Relentless, his October 2008 autobiography, were thoroughly documented by the indefatigable list-maker -- would lead them to seriously consider internal candidates.

The Rogers empire also suffered multiple layoffs this week, with 24 let go from the Jays' front office and an unknown number of layoffs in the media arm of the company. RCI shares were up slightly on the NYSE Wednesday.