Brian Lowry of Variety is the latest media analyst to tote up the reasons why Rupert Murdoch's shrewdness makes him the most likely purchaser of Newsday from Sam Zell and his Tribune company.
In his column for the entertainment paper today, Lowry said Murdoch "is that rare mogul willing to set short-term earnings considerations aside in pursuit of larger game." He gives as an example his Fox deal for NFL football rights that has paid back in many new station affiliations.
Lowry talks too about how Murdoch is a master of manipulating the federal regulatory environment that would stop many smaller operators. Lowry said, "Murdoch is presenting himself as a white knight, but like Scrooge, his pitch comes as a tacit ultimatum: 'Give me these properties to run my way,' he's essentially saying, 'or watch them die.'"
--Noel Rubinton