Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s former chief spin doctor is about to make a comeback at Sun TV after leaving the right-leaning news network in a cloud of controversy only a few months ago.
The Globe and Mail is reporting that Kory Teneycke is expected within days to retake the helm of Quebecor‘s fledgling cable news network.
Teneycke abruptly resigned from the venture in mid-September amid allegations that an online petition against Sun TV News had been tampered with.
At the time, Teneycke admitted his combative style had turned him into a liability for the network, which was in the process of applying for a federal broadcasting licence.
Neither Teneycke nor the network would confirm his imminent return.
But the Globe report suggests Quebecor considers it safe to reinstate Teneycke now that much of the controversy he generated has died down and the network has obtained its broadcast licence.
The 24-hour news channel is set to launch in mid-March.
Teneycke, Harper’s former communications director, seemed to relish picking fights with “the lame-stream media” and critics who predicted the new network would be “Fox News North,” a knock-off of the rabidly right-wing U.S. Fox News.
He resigned one day after the police, including the RCMP, were asked to investigate allegations that names of journalists and fictitious characters had been added fraudulently to an online petition organized by global activist group Avaaz.org.
Teneycke disclosed details of the prank in a bid to discredit the petition. But questions then arose about how he learned about it since the names of petition signatories had not been posted publicly.
Teneycke maintained “a source” had e-mailed him with details, though Ottawa police decided not to pursue the complaint.
