Stories related to: Rupert Murdoch

Cablevision will pay Tribune Co. $650 million for Newsday , the companies said this morning. The cable operator's bid for the Long Island daily and its free offshoot amNew York topped $580 million offers from New York Daily News owner Mortimer Zuckerman and News Corp., reports the Wall Street Journal. More »

Rupert Murdoch has dropped his $580 million bid for Newsday . Cable operator Cablevision has offered $650 million for the Long Island daily, and Murdoch’s News Corp. said a higher bid would be “uneconomical.” The media tycoon’s dropout was unexpected, Reuters says, considering Murdoch recently told investors a deal was nearly done. A $580 million bid from Mortimer Zuckerman, owner of the rival Daily News , remains on the table. More »

Tensions are running high in the Wall Street Journal ’s newsroom, the New Republic reports, as staffers wonder just where this Murdoch thing is going. Managing editor Marcus Brauchli’s resignation still hangs heavy in the air. Murdoch pushed Brauchli to resign, and paid him millions to sign a non-disclosure agreement. “We're a business newspaper, so we know a sell-out when we see one,” one angry staffer said. More »

MySpace fell short of revenue targets in the most recent quarter, but, Adam Ostrow argues in Mashable, it’s still proven a phenomenal deal since Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. bought it for $580 million in 2005. Revenues from its unit are pulling close to its purchase price and it’s on track to make more with music downloads, sponsorships and targeted ads. More »

The older men are when they walk down the aisle, the more likely they are to have a younger bride, according to a new study. Famous May-December pairings usually involve the rich and famous—think Donald Trump or Larry King—but the trend holds up at every income level, the San Jose Mercury News reports. More »

Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate tripled its profit last quarter on improved results from its cable and broadcast networks and the sale of DirecTV, MarketWatch reports. News Corp. earned $2.7 billion, or 91 cents a share, up from $871 million, or 27 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue jumped 16% to $8.75 billion, exceeding analysts' estimates. More »

It’s not often Hillary Clinton, the Dalai Lama, and Judd Apatow find themselves on the same list. But they've all made Time's annual pick of the world’s 100 most influential people, ranging from artists and intellectuals to scientists and politicians (including George Bush and all three presidential hopefuls). A short look at the long list: More »

Let’s stop kidding ourselves, Jack Shafer writes in Slate: Rupert Murdoch is seizing control of the Wall Street Journal , and we might as well be done with the “Special Committee” that was supposed to protect editorial independence. The Bancroft family insisted on the creation of the board, which then proved itself  "a set of high-paid flunkies" who sat on their hands as the paper’s top editor was forced out. More »

A committee formed to protect the editorial independence of the Wall Street Journal from Rupert Murdoch’s influence said today the solicited resignation of managing editor Macrus Brauchli violated an agreement with Murdoch's News Corporation, Reuters reports. The committee is supposed to review all high-level hirings and firings, but, as Brauchli opted to resign, it learned of his ouster only after the fact. More »

More top Wall Street Journal execs have been spit out by the Murdoch machine, and the staff they leave behind is furious they’re leaving so quietly. Zipping their mouths was part of hefty severance packages, David Carr notes in the New York Times , and as the line evaporates between editorial standards and owner's whims, the protectors of journalistic independence are missing in action. More »

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 »

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 »

Continuing to report on the aftershocks of its own takeover, the Wall Street Journal does a postmortem on the departure of top editor Marcus Brauchli, detailing his uncomfortable position between a demanding new owner and the paper's institutional “DNA.” Rupert Murdoch wanted to build a direct competitor to the New York Times , with more general news and shorter stories, and felt the managing editor was holding up the overhaul. More »

After Marcus Brauchli officially resigned as managing editor of the Wall Street Journal this afternoon, the paper said it will "begin a search for Mr. Brauchli's replacement immediately." That may prove difficult: Brauchli, who will remain with News Corp. as a consultant,   wasn't given the control over the paper he felt management had promised, the New York Times reports. More »

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 »

Four months into the Rupert Murdoch era, the Wall Street Journal ’s managing editor is resigning. Marcus Brauchli, in the job since May, has tried to chart a path between Murdoch and the paper’s traditionalists, sources told Time, which broke the story on its website. The split is said to be amicable, and Brauchli is likely to take another post with the company. More »

If the New York Times is wooing potential buyers as many have speculated, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg seems to be an ideal suitor. He heads a media empire, has a $12 billion fortune and the acumen to go mano-a-mano with Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal— and he'll have time on his hands when he leaves office next year. Only problem: he's not interested. More »

A newly Rupert Murdoch-ified Wall Street Journal throws down the gauntlet at the New York Times tomorrow , reports Newsweek , in the biggest battle of newspaper titans since Hearst v. Pulitzer. Murdoch is looking for (more) power and respect from the journalistic elite at a time when the Gray Lady is weakened by a huge loss of advertising and revenue. More »

MySpace has signed with a British production firm for international distribution of video content it develops, in a sign that News Corp's social network aims to be a breeding ground for small-screen programming. Indeed, in revealing the deal with the Shine Group—whose CEO is News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch’s daughter—MySpace declared itself “Hollywood’s digital playground,” the New York Times reports. More »

Two groundbreaking Internet deals are in the works, both related to Microsoft's desire to take over Yahoo, the Wall Street Journal reports. In one, Yahoo is considering combining its online operations with Time Warner's AOL. In the other, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is in talks to join Microsoft in its bid to acquire Yahoo.  More »