TORONTO — Paul Godfrey, the new president and chief executive officer of the Toronto-based National Post, was in a joking mood when a reporter walked into his office early one afternoon last month.
Paul Godfrey in his office at the National Post [Sheldon Kirshner photo]
“I’m still looking for the washrooms and where the bodies are buried,” he quipped, grinning.
Striking a more serious tone, he expressed confidence that he can fulfil his mandate and put the National Post – founded by Conrad Black in 1998 – on the road to profitability.
“I hope my appointment will dispel rumours that the Post is closing. I wouldn’t have taken this job if I thought so. People feed on gossip. We know that.”
Godfrey, who turned 70 on the cold, snowy day he was interviewed, was hired to achieve that objective by Leonard Asper, the president of Canwest Global Communications Corp., Canada’s largest media empire.
He arrived at the Post from the Toronto Blue Jays baseball club, where he had been president and CEO for the past eight years. “I had indicated to him [Asper] that I was leaving the Blue Jays and did want to retire. He asked, ‘Would you like to run the Post?’ ”
Godfrey was gung-ho. ”I’d always had a love for newspapers,” he said.
No one in the business was really surprised by Asper’s decision to tap Godfrey. Prior to his stint with the Jays, Godfrey was publisher of the Toronto Sun and chief executive of Sun Media Corp. At Sun Media Corp., one of his tasks was to make the Financial Post profitable. Within three years, he had achieved his goal.
And now, at the National Post, he is determined to repeat his success.
“I’ve honestly felt that the Post is an important voice in Canada. I want to ensure that its longevity is preserved, that its revenue base – advertising and circulation – is strong and that the editorial product is accurate, fair and opinionated.”
Godfrey, however, has no illusions.
“The Post is not in the black right now, but the situation is not as critical as many people have painted it to be,” said Godfrey, whose office faces the newsroom. “The Post is much better off than most people think. It’s nowhere near where people think it is. With some fine-tuning and effort, the Post will be around for decades. We’re a solid read. We have the talent and determination to succeed. To use a baseball analogy, we can hit a home run.”
He added, “The Post can make a contribution to Canwest in a short period of time.”
Although he was not given a contract when he signed on, he is hardly worried. “I’m way beyond retirement age,” said Godfrey, who’s in fine form and works out several times a week.
“I’ll do it as long as we’re both happy. I’ve always enjoyed everything I’ve done,” said Godfrey, who recently returned from a lengthy vacation at his Florida condo. “I’ve always had fun jobs.”
The son of Philip, a scrap dealer, and Bess, a political campaign manager, he was born in Toronto and raised in the Kensington Market neighbourhood.
A graduate of Bathurst Heights Secondary School and the University of Toronto (chemical engineering), he launched his career in industry. Then, thanks to his mother’s influence, he segued into local politics as a North York alderman.
In 1973, he was appointed chair of Metropolitan Toronto, a position he held until 1984. In this capacity, he was instrumental in bringing the Blue Jays to Toronto. “I had always been a sports fan,” he said.
Taking credit for having helped transform Toronto into what he described as “North America’s safest and most livable city,” Godfrey groused that the city has since fallen on harder times. “The halo has slipped. It bothers me to see new and higher taxes and less services. It’s not the city it once was. It’s time for younger people to step forward.”
As he remembers, he was “totally dumbfounded” when Doug Creighton, one of the founders of the Toronto Sun, asked him to be its new publisher. “He wanted me because I was high-profile and could bring respectability and people skills to the Sun,” he explained.
“Certain parts of the job – advertising and circulation – were easy,” Godfrey recalled. “But convincing the editorial people that a former politician was their boss was harder. I had to convince them that I didn’t want to spin the news, and that took two to three years.”
When Godfrey reported for duty in 1984, the Sun was widely considered brash and outspoken. “It was viewed as a racy newspaper,” he said, referring to its photographs of scantily-clad Sunshine Girls.
Never one to ignore demographics, Godfrey did not throw out that popular feature, but he did upgrade the quality of the Sun by hiring what he calls respectable journalists and columnists.
“The Sun gained a major degree of respectability in the community. We broke news stories, and we were second to none in sports coverage. We changed the approach rather than the culture of the Sun.”
Leaving the Sun, Godfrey reinvented himself as the Blue Jays’ chief executive officer. Ted Rogers, the communications mogul, recruited him in 2000, the year he bought the team. With Godfrey at the helm, the payroll was increased and the SkyDome was purchased, but the Blue Jays never finished better than second place in the American League.
Reflecting on the team’s singular inability to rise to the very top, he mused, “Sure I was disappointed. Every team thinks it can win, but in reality it’s hard to win unless you spend a lot more money than you can make.”
Still, Godfrey was an avid fan, attending every home game and a quarter of the out-of-town contests and watching the rest on television.
“My wife didn’t sue me for divorce,” he chuckled.
Now, at the Post, Godfrey has dispensed with the scruffy beard he wore for about seven years. “It was time for a new look, which is similar to the old look,” he said.
Saying that journalism has changed dramatically since his days at the Sun, Godfrey talked about the emergence of the Internet and digital newspapers.
Although he fears that the Internet will gradually erode newspaper circulation, he believes that ink-on-paper dailies will survive.
“Most people love the portability and comfort of a hands-on newspaper. People have been predicting the demise of the newspaper since the advent of radio and TV. But newspapers are basically content providers and will survive.”
As president of the Post, he revels in the knowledge that he can have an impact on the local, provincial and national level.
But Godfrey, a Conservative party loyalist, has no intention of returning to politics in the future.
“I don’t think so,” said Godfrey, the father of three grown sons. “I have no desire to go back to it, though I’ve been encouraged to run provincially and federally. I was always content with my life in Toronto.”
Godfrey – who sits on the boards of Baycrest and Mount Sinai Hospital, and whose wife Gina is associated with the Jerusalem Foundation – still hopes to bring a National Football League franchise to Toronto.
“Toronto is one of the missing components of the NFL,” said Godfrey, who is certain that both an NFL and a Canadian Football League team can coexist here. “Toronto is a great sports city.”