Michael Bate (born ca. 1945) is a Canadian media entrepreneur and one of the founders of the Ottawa edition of gossip magazine Frank.
Born in England, he grew up in Canada, attending the University of Victoria in 1965, and later studying history at Carleton. Bate was a long time Ottawa musician (pedal steel guitar) who worked as a radio producer and as a computer games developer (working on such titles as B.C.'s Quest for Tires, B.C. II: Grog's R...
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Michael Bate (born ca. 1945) is a Canadian media entrepreneur and one of the founders of the Ottawa edition of gossip magazine Frank.
Born in England, he grew up in Canada, attending the University of Victoria in 1965, and later studying history at Carleton. Bate was a long time Ottawa musician (pedal steel guitar) who worked as a radio producer and as a computer games developer (working on such titles as B.C.'s Quest for Tires, B.C. II: Grog's Revenge, and Ace of Aces). He also worked as a reporter for Canadian Press.
In 1989, Bate became a business partner with David Bentley to expand Frank from its Halifax roots by launching an Ottawa edition. Bentley eventually returned to Halifax and, under Bate's direction, the Ottawa edition of Frank blossomed in the mid-1990s. Paid circulation of the magazine peaked at under 20,000 copies nationally but it earned a notoriety that far exceeded its readership. Most infamously, the magazine infuriated then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney for a mock...
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