by Tom Jeffries » Tue Nov 06, 2018 4:35 pm
What Follows is cartt.ca reportage on the late, Mr. and Mrs. Sole:
Leslie Sole, a Canadian broadcast veteran who left Rogers Media in 2011 after 25 years at the radio and TV broadcaster, has died.
Sole and his wife, Terri Michael, a veteran radio DJ, TV host and voice talent, on Monday were killed after being involved in a vehicle crash near their home in Cabos San Lucas on Mexico's Baha peninsula.
No other details on the accident, or what led up to the crash, are available.
Sole's death was confirmed to Cartt.ca on Tuesday by Tony Viner, who retired as head of Rogers Media in 2010 and worked with Sole for over three decades.
"Leslie, I worked with him for 30 years, and he was one of the most creative people that I ever met, but surprisingly he was a very good business guy… I’m crushed by this news," Viner said.
Cabo Mil, a local radio station where Terri Michael hosted a weekly classic rock show, Total Recall: 40 Years of Rock, on Tuesday posted a Facebook notice with news of the couple's death, with the message: "In our memory forever."
Rogers Media president Rick Brace offered his own thoughts on the passing of Sole. “Leslie was a visionary, who passionately loved Canadian television and left an indelible mark on this industry, and on Rogers. Throughout his 25 years at Rogers, Leslie was a creative executive who never shied away from bold decisions and was the architect of pioneering stations such as OMNI Television," Brace said in a statement.
"Rogers Media extends its deepest condolences to the entire Sole family on the passing of Leslie and his wife Terri. We join with friends and colleagues in the remembrance of this respected media leader, one we were proud to call our own," he added.
Viner, paying tribute to Sole, recalled the five City TV stations that Rogers Media first acquired were loss-making, until the veteran broadcaster turned round their fortunes and restored them to profitability within 18 months.
"He was really responsible for making CFMT a very profitable multi-lingual television station that not openly served its and advertisers and audiences, but had a significant impact on the Toronto market," Viner added.
Bell Media president Randy Lennox on Tuesday paid tribute to Sole, too. “Leslie was a thoughtful, passionate and savvy competitor, as well as a builder and champion of our industry. But more than, that he was a man of honour and integrity. Our deepest sympathies go out to Leslie and Terri’s family, friends, and colleagues," he said in a statement to Cartt.ca.
After graduating from the University of Detroit in 1970, Sole joined the CHOM FM radio station in Montreal and worked there for four years before moving onto a position as director of programming at Rogers' CFTR radio station in Toronto.
After completing her English degree at Concordia University in Montreal, Terri Michael joined CHOM-FM, then the country's only bilingual radio station.
Sole worked his way up and eventually became CEO of Television at Rogers Communications in April 1986, a position he held for 25 years until March 2011.
Most recently, he was controlling shareholder of Ideation2020 LP, a management company, with offices in Toronto, Vancouver and Cabo San Lucas.
Cartt.ca will publish funeral details when they become available.