John White Hughes Bassett, PC CC OOnt (August 25, 1915 – April 27, 1998) was a Canadian media proprietor.
Born in Ottawa, Ontario, he was the son of John Bassett (1886–1958), publisher of the Montreal Gazette, and Marion Avery (née Wright).
After fighting with the Army in World War II, Bassett ran unsuccessfully for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, in the 1945 Canadian election in the riding of Sherbrooke, losing to Liberal incumbent, Maurice Gingues.
He also ran in the 1962 election in the riding of Spadina losing to Liberal candidate Perry Ryan by less than 2,000 votes.
In 1960, he founded Telegram Corporation (later Baton Broadcasting) to run Toronto's first commercial television station, CFTO-TV.
In 1969, Ballard and Stafford Smythe were charged with tax evasion and accused of using Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. to pay for their personal expenses.
This was a serious strategic blunder on Bassett's part; Smythe was still the largest shareholder, and he and Ballard controlled almost half the shares between them.
Due to the requirements under the Official Secrets Act, Bassett was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada.