November 21, 2006

Veteran Reporter John Higgins Dies

By Shirley Brady

John Higgins, business editor for Broadcasting & Cable Magazine and a longtime reporter on media, television and Wall Street, died Nov. 20 of a heart attack. He was 45. Higgins joined B&C in 1997 from Multichannel News, where he carved his reputation as a tenacious, whip-smart and astute observer of this industry.

"We were deeply saddened to learn of John’s passing," said Comcast chairman and CEO, Brian Roberts. "He was a witty, insightful reporter who pulled no punches, but was always fair. John was one of a kind, and he will be greatly missed."

"John Higgins was an outstanding journalist and one of the smartest and best informed reporters on our beat," said Richard Parsons, chairman and CEO, Time Warner. "We will miss his fairness, his tenacity and his friendship."

"As first among equals in business journalism, John made invaluable contributions to the state of our industry through his insightful accounts of business developments and breaking news, as well as his passion for enterprise reporting," commented National Cable & Telecommunications Association president and CEO Kyle McSlarrow. "More importantly, as tough as John was, he was fair, and he wrote with great credibility and style. Our industry has suffered a great loss, but John's legacy of integrity will inspire others, and live on."

"We are heartbroken, as is everyone who knew John," added Rob Stoddard, NCTA's SVP of communications. (For tributes from Stoddard and other senior industry executives including Char Beales, Phil Kent, John Hendricks and Henry Schleiff, click here.)

The news of his passing spread Tuesday morning at the same time that another great journalist—Ed Bradley of CBS News and 60 Minutes—was being honored at a memorial service in New York. Both reporters shared the same love of their craft and a "cut the B.S." skepticism mixed with compassion that embodies journalism at its best.

Higgins may not have been as widely known as Bradley, but he was just as fearless in his reporting. He delighted in holding executives' feet to the fire—whether at a press conference, on an earnings call with analysts or in chasing down a story—and was on a first-name basis with not only the executives above but a who's who of media titans, including News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch and countless others. News Corp.'s fourth quarter earnings call in August was classic Higgins:

John Higgins, Broadcasting & Cable: This moderator has the smoothest voice ever. You should hire him to do voiceovers. Could you give me a little more color on the U.S. broadcast operations, particularly the fourth quarter where revenues were down but operating income was up? You're talking up to Malone about cutting loose a bunch of the TV stations. Could you tell me which stations those are and what that would do to the TV operation?

Rupert Murdoch, chairman & CEO, News Corp.: The answer is no to the last one. We can't tell you.

Higgins: I promise not to tell anyone else.

Dave DeVoe, CFO, News Corp.: The accounting is with respect to revenues per unit and we sold our SKY Radio business which is included in our television segment, which is why the revenues were down in the fourth quarter.

Higgins: What would the number have been if you had adjusted that out?

DeVoe: We don't do those kind of pro forma.

Higgins: Can you isolate just the FOX Networks and the TV stations for me?

DeVoe: No.

Operator: Next we go to the line of...

Click here to read CableWorld editor Seth Arenstein's tribute to Higgins. Mine is simply to say that I'm proud to have known John as a mentor and a friend. He kept us all on our toes and made everyone who came into contact with him—rival reporters, chief executives and beyond—sharper and better at our game. —Shirley Brady