The talk is that Rupert Murdoch is closing in on a deal to take control of Newsday from Sam Zell. Among those buzzing is The Wall Street Journal, whose story says that Murdoch seems willing to help Zell make the deal as "tax efficient" as possible. Tribune would keep a stake of 5% or less in a complicated transaction that insiders say could still unravel. Federal regulators would be certain to scrutinize the consolidation for Murdoch, who already owns the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal and two television stations in the local market.
The Chicago Tribune's story called it an "agreement in principle" between Zell and Murdoch, but said there was "cleanup" work remaining before an official announcement.
In The New York Times, a Reuters story gave a few other details, such as several meetings between Zell, Murdoch and a "senior banker."
--Noel Rubinton
Comments (1)
Right now, the story is on the business pages. It's also a political story - the political implications of a Murdoch takeover of Newsday are enormous. Ever since he bought the Post, he has intervened in many elections in New York state, starting with Governor Carey's and continuing with support for Edward I. Koch and others - brazenly using his front page to push his choices, not just the editorial page. That's his right. But allowing him to take control of a second big paper in New York state (not to mention the Wall Street Journal) is something the public should think about long and hard (and quickly!). And don't expect many public officials to address this - they'd be afraid that Murdoch will see to it that his papers bash them. This deal - if it clears the antitrust laws - will concentrate a lot of power in his hands, and he'll try to use it to make New York state another of his subsidiaries.