Raymond Heard
Encyclopedia
Raymond Heard is a Canadian-South African journalist, editor, media executive and political strategist. He is President of Toronto-based Heard-Cosgrove Communications, whose clients include some of Canada's largest companies.
A white South African by birth, Heard, whose parents, George and Vida Heard, were prominent liberal journalists, was a political reporter for the Rand Daily Mail from 1955 until 1960. In 1960,he graduated with a BA Hons. in political science at the University of the Watersrand (Johannesbrg) and then spent a year at Harvard on a Frank Knox Fellowship, where his teachers included Henry Kissinger and J.K.Galbraith. While there, he wrote an article on the political situation in his homeland for the Harvard Crimson
in which he described apartheid as "a combination of hatred, fear, and ignorance."
An opponent of the apartheid regime, he left South Africa in 1962 and immigrated to Canada where he found a job with the Montreal Star
. He served as the Star's White House correspondent, and a correspondent for The London Observer and the South African Morning Group, from 1963 until 1973, when he became Editor of the London Observer's Foreign News Service. In 1976, he returned to the Montreal Star as Managing Editor, with responsibility for all content, and remained with the newspaper until it closed in 1979 after
a crippling 11-month printers' strike. Heard then moved to the Global Television Network
where he served as Vice President, News and Current affairs, until 1987 when he accepted a position as communications director for Liberal
leader John Turner
. During the 2008 federal election
he endorsed his friend Conservative
Peter Kent
's winning candidacy for Parliament.
From 1990 until 200O, Heard was the senior adviser, media and speech-writing, to two Chairmen and CEOs of Royal Bank of Canada, Allan Taylor and John Cleghorn. As the adviser to Cleghorn during the abortive effort to merge Royal Bank and Bank of Montreal in 1998, Heard played the role of devil's advocate, warning that the merger would be denied by the Liberal government unless the banks did more to explain why the merger would benefit customers. In 2000, he launched Heard-Cosgrove Communications.
Heard was responsible for making Nelson Mandela, whom he had covered as a young reporter in South Africa, an Honourary Canadian, in 2001, the fist living person to get this honour.
In 1965, the Royal Humane Society honoured Heard, an avid surfer since boyhood, for saving the life of a woman bather at Land's End, Cornwall.
In early 2010, a consortium made up of Heard, Jerry Grafstein
, Beryl Wajsman and Diane Francis announced a bid to purchase the National Post
, Ottawa Citizen
and Montreal Gazette from the floundering CanWest media conglomerate.
Heard is married to the Canadian journalist, Gillian Cosgrove and they have a daughter, Jennifer, a 2010 political science honours graduate from Guelph University. He has two children, Josephine Robson of London, and Antony Heard of Ottawa, from his first marriage to Susan Lewis (now Lady Susan Steyn).
Heard's younger brother, Anthony Heard, remained in South Africa and served as Editor in Chief of liberal The Cape Times for many years until he was dismissed after breaking the apartheid laws in 1986 by publishing his interview with Oliver Tambo, the exiled leader of the African National Congress (ANC). When Nelson Mandela became President of the new South Afriuca, Anthony Heard became an adviser in The Presidency, serving until 2010.
Heard's father George was a popular radical journalist in the 1930s, who exposed pro-Nazis in the government. He served in the SA Navy, and disappeared in full uniform in Cape Town after VE Day in 1945. It was later discovered that Heard, who was numnber two on the death list of the Nazi Afrikaner Broederbond underground, had been kidnapped and murdered to prevent him from launching a post-war newspaper that would advocate a new, non-racial country.
A white South African by birth, Heard, whose parents, George and Vida Heard, were prominent liberal journalists, was a political reporter for the Rand Daily Mail from 1955 until 1960. In 1960,he graduated with a BA Hons. in political science at the University of the Watersrand (Johannesbrg) and then spent a year at Harvard on a Frank Knox Fellowship, where his teachers included Henry Kissinger and J.K.Galbraith. While there, he wrote an article on the political situation in his homeland for the Harvard Crimson
Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson are the athletic teams of Harvard University. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2006, there were 41 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country...
in which he described apartheid as "a combination of hatred, fear, and ignorance."
An opponent of the apartheid regime, he left South Africa in 1962 and immigrated to Canada where he found a job with the Montreal Star
Montreal Star
The Montreal Star was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It folded in 1979 following an eight-month pressmen's strike....
. He served as the Star's White House correspondent, and a correspondent for The London Observer and the South African Morning Group, from 1963 until 1973, when he became Editor of the London Observer's Foreign News Service. In 1976, he returned to the Montreal Star as Managing Editor, with responsibility for all content, and remained with the newspaper until it closed in 1979 after
a crippling 11-month printers' strike. Heard then moved to the Global Television Network
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
where he served as Vice President, News and Current affairs, until 1987 when he accepted a position as communications director for Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
leader John Turner
John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....
. During the 2008 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
he endorsed his friend Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
Peter Kent
Peter Kent
Peter Kent, PC, MP is a Conservative member of parliament for the riding of Thornhill, and the current Minister of the Environment in the 28th Canadian Ministry.Previously, he was Deputy Editor of Global Television, a Canadian TV network...
's winning candidacy for Parliament.
From 1990 until 200O, Heard was the senior adviser, media and speech-writing, to two Chairmen and CEOs of Royal Bank of Canada, Allan Taylor and John Cleghorn. As the adviser to Cleghorn during the abortive effort to merge Royal Bank and Bank of Montreal in 1998, Heard played the role of devil's advocate, warning that the merger would be denied by the Liberal government unless the banks did more to explain why the merger would benefit customers. In 2000, he launched Heard-Cosgrove Communications.
Heard was responsible for making Nelson Mandela, whom he had covered as a young reporter in South Africa, an Honourary Canadian, in 2001, the fist living person to get this honour.
In 1965, the Royal Humane Society honoured Heard, an avid surfer since boyhood, for saving the life of a woman bather at Land's End, Cornwall.
In early 2010, a consortium made up of Heard, Jerry Grafstein
Jerry Grafstein
Jerahmiel S. "Jerry" Grafstein is a former Canadian Senator and lawyer.He is married to Carole and has two children, Laurence Stephen and Michael Kevin....
, Beryl Wajsman and Diane Francis announced a bid to purchase the National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
, Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Citizen
The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...
and Montreal Gazette from the floundering CanWest media conglomerate.
Heard is married to the Canadian journalist, Gillian Cosgrove and they have a daughter, Jennifer, a 2010 political science honours graduate from Guelph University. He has two children, Josephine Robson of London, and Antony Heard of Ottawa, from his first marriage to Susan Lewis (now Lady Susan Steyn).
Heard's younger brother, Anthony Heard, remained in South Africa and served as Editor in Chief of liberal The Cape Times for many years until he was dismissed after breaking the apartheid laws in 1986 by publishing his interview with Oliver Tambo, the exiled leader of the African National Congress (ANC). When Nelson Mandela became President of the new South Afriuca, Anthony Heard became an adviser in The Presidency, serving until 2010.
Heard's father George was a popular radical journalist in the 1930s, who exposed pro-Nazis in the government. He served in the SA Navy, and disappeared in full uniform in Cape Town after VE Day in 1945. It was later discovered that Heard, who was numnber two on the death list of the Nazi Afrikaner Broederbond underground, had been kidnapped and murdered to prevent him from launching a post-war newspaper that would advocate a new, non-racial country.