New York Post

(Newser) - Media watchers have been tracking the post-election New York Pos t with particular interest: Instead of being dyspeptic over the Democratic presidential win, Rupert Murdoch's gleefully right-wing tabloid has treated Barack Obama to coverage ranging, as the New York Times puts it, "from warm and fuzzy to downright heroic." Which fuels speculation, first raised by biographer Michael Wolff in a book excerpt in Vanity Fair , that the 77-year-old media magnate (and owner of Fox News) is veering leftward. More »

(Newser) - New York’s opinion leaders are presenting a united front in favor of suspending term limits so Michael Bloomberg can serve a third term as mayor, David Carr writes for the New York Times . With the city facing job loss and financial crisis, everyone likes Mike, at least for another 4 years. That includes the city's newspapers, whether opposed to (the Times ) or supportive of (the Daily News ) term limits in the past. More »

(Newser) - The New York Post “emphatically” endorsed John McCain today, praising the Arizona senator’s “battle-tested courage, unshakeable devotion to principle,” and national security acumen, and dismissing the “tissue-paper-thin resume” of Barack Obama. Despite decades in Washington, McCain “is not of Washington,” the Post argues, something he underscored by picking outsider Sarah Palin as his running mate: “Neither plays well with others.” More »

(Newser) - You can leave the Playboy Mansion, but you can't leave the "sorority," the New York Post discovers as it catches up with some former Playmates. "There's no such thing as a former Playmate," said Jule McCullough, Miss February 1986. So where are they now? McCullough, 43: pulls socks from her top during her “Funny Bunny” stand-up comedy routine. More »

(Newser) - Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman has matched Rupert Murdoch's bid for Newsday , the New York Times reports—but didn't go a penny over the $580 million the New York Post owner offered. Instead Zuckerman claimed his bid is the better one because, unlike Murdoch's, it doesn't run the risk of running into an FCC tripwire. More »

(Newser) - Rupert Murdoch is betting new federal standards limiting media ownership to one TV station and one newspaper (per market) won't keep him from buying a fifth New York outlet. The mogul has long held waivers to control media in excess of the rules, and he doesn't think recent enforcement pledges will stop him from winning permission to own Newsday , the Times reports. More »

(Newser) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. empire is closing in on a deal to buy Newsday from the Tribune Company for an $850 million package, reports Reuters. Under the terms of the deal, Newsday would be run as a joint venture with the New York Post , but the papers would remain separate for now. Tribune would get $550 million in cash and retain a 5% stake in Newsday . More »

(Newser) - Falling ad revenues could push Sam Zell's Tribune Company to sell Newsday , the Long Island newspaper with the 10th-highest circulation in the nation, the New York Times reports. Among those interested are Rupert Murdoch, who already owns the New York Post . Also in the running are the owner of the Daily News and the family that runs Cablevision. Tribune announced yesterday it lost $78 million in the fourth quarter. More »

(Newser) - PageSix.com, the online version of the New York Post 's celebrity gossip column, is shutting down after just three months, Gawker reports. The Rupert Murdoch project attracted 1 million pageviews last week when it published photos of Eliot Spitzer's escort, but, "given the difficulty in the economy, it was not the right time for this launch," said one manager. More »

(Newser) - The conservative press, once a surprising ally for Hillary Clinton, is turning out to be about as loyal as the Democratic senator should have expected, Politico writes. Though long reviled by the far-right masses, Clinton once had the carefully cultivated respect of some rightish media players like Rupert Murdoch and Matt Drudge. But now even those unlikely supporters are turning from her. More »

(Newser) - The New York Post today endorsed Barack Obama in Tuesday's Democratic primary, but devoted most of its space to railing against “the opportunistic, scandal-scarred, morally muddled” Clinton couple. Words like “thuggish,” “cynical,” and, of course, “triangulating,” flew in the right-wing tabloid. Only a few co