It was the Sun Media group's David Akin who asked the question that provoked the outburst.

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Prior to 2004 Conrad Black was a columnist, as well as chairman and chief executive of Hollinger International (now part of Sun-Times Media Group), a newspaper publishing giant whose holdings include the Chicago Sun-Times and the Daily Telegraph.

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The company (which just changed its name to Sun-Times Media Group) and Lord Black are suing each other for damages.

FORBES: Correction Appended

The company has since changed its name to Sun-Times Media Group (nyse: SVN - news - people ).

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Mr. Maran, who is also the founder of media group Sun TV Network Ltd.

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