News Corp.'s Murdoch, Cablevision's Dolan Among Newsday Bidders
New York Daily News Publisher Zuckerman Also Eyes Long Island, N.Y.-Based Tribune Newspaper
By B&C Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/21/2008 5:00:00 AM
News Corp. and Cablevision Systems are among the bidders looking to buy New York daily Newsday from Tribune. News of the potential sale came as the struggling Chicago-based Tribune announced dismal earnings.
According to published reports, News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch, Cablevision chairman James Dolan and New York Daily News publisher Mortimer Zuckerman are in separate discussions to buy Newsday.
Murdoch is said to be considering a joint venture with the Long Island, N.Y.-based daily, which already distributes News Corp.’s New York Post on Long Island. Cablevision, which is also based on Long Island, is said to be in talks for a complete acquisition.
Tribune, which went private last year in an $8.2 billion buyout by real-estate mogul Sam Zell, reported 2007 earnings Thursday that showed a loss of $78 million in the fourth quarter and a sharp drop in full-year income to $55 million compared to $661 million in 2006.
