Murdoch confident he'll land Newsday

By Phil Rosenthal

Chicago Tribune

May 07, 2008

Although his company is reported to be holding tight to its $580 million offer for Newsday despite apparently being outbid, News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch believes he ultimately will wind up with Tribune Co.'s Long Island, N.Y., newspaper.

Long Island-based Cablevision Systems Corp. submitted a $650 million proposal for Newday last week, a few days after sources said Murdoch reached an agreement in principle with Tribune Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Sam Zell for control of the suburban New York tabloid.

'I trust Mr. Zell absolutely. He's famous for being a man of his word. We think everything's in hand,' Murdoch said Wednesday during News Corp.'s quarterly conference call with analysts and reporters.

Murdoch said he hopes the Newsday deal will be completed 'within the next week and I don't mean the end of next week, I mean in the next seven days. It takes two to agree, but we're at a pretty advanced stage.' A Tribune Co. spokesman declined comment.

Cablevision's proposal is said to include assets such as real estate that aren't part of lower bids from News Corp., publisher of the New York Post, and Mort Zuckerman, publisher of the New York Daily News.

'I don't think Cablevision will prevail,' Murdoch said. 'Just be patient for a couple of days, will you? We're certainly not in the business of getting into an auction here.'

Murdoch wouldn't detail the financial performance of the Post, long reputed to be a major money-loser. But he said acquiring Newsday and operating the two papers in tandem 'will improve our cash flow by $100 million' annually.

'We see Newsday continuing to be a very important local newspaper covering two of the greatest ... and wealthiest counties in America, and the Post covering basically the city of New York and being a paper with a very different character,' Murdoch said. 'We're not putting them into one newspaper, but there are great savings in printing, in distribution and of course all the ... back-office functions. There's a lot we can do together.'

Murdoch, whose company's holdings in the New York market already includes two TV stations and the Wall Street Journal as well as the Post, said he wasn't concerned with regulatory hurdles to the deal, noting the company is 'very confident' it will get Federal Communications Commission cross-ownership allowances 'even if we have to go to court.'

As for what he would tell activists, members of Congress and others who have expressed opposition to increased consolidation of media ownership because it decreases competition, Murdoch said, 'I'd like them to take a little look around the Internet.'

PhilRosenthal@tribune.com

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