Public relations guru Lord Bell has been parachuted in to defuse the crisis threatening to engulf Lord Black and his Hollinger group, which owns the Daily Telegraph.
The PR man, a former favourite of Margaret Thatcher, has been brought in by Lord Black's trusted lieutenant, Dan Colson, to try to "depersonalise" the story surrounding the crisis at Hollinger.
"They [Hollinger] would rather have a fair and accurate press than get bound up with Conrad Black's private life," Lord Bell said.
Mr Colson hired Lord Bell and his associate Piers Pottinger on Tuesday to try to disassociate the media company from its former boss.
Mr Colson, who runs the Telegraph group, was promoted to chief operating officer of Hollinger International after Lord Black was forced to step down as chief executive.
Lord Bell and Mr Pottinger are personally working on the account and have been asked to get a grip on the UK press, which Mr Colson believes is concentrating too heavily on Lord Black's private life.
Lord Bell said the most important part of the ongoing brief will be changing the "incorrect assumption" that Hollinger International's Telegraph titles are up for sale.
Mr Pottinger said the first thing he will recommend is for someone from Hollinger to publicly explain the facts to "clear the air". He also believes Hollinger should make a "forward-looking statement" about how it intends to proceed.