NEW YORK — Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has been calling key New York state and Long Island officials to say he is close to a deal to buy Newsday and that he looks forward to working with them, some officials said Tuesday.
But not so fast, said a source close to negotiations by rival bidder Mortimer Zuckerman, who owns the New York Daily News and submitted an offer for Newsday a few weeks ago: “This is not a done deal.”
Murdoch’s $580 million deal would help Newsday owner Tribune Co. reduce the $8.2 billion debt load it took on last year in going private. The Wall Street Journal said the deal would be structured as a joint venture with the New York Post and other News Corp. businesses in which Tribune Co. would retain a stake of less than 5 percent.
Gaining Newsday would allow News Corp. to cut the persistent losses at the New York Post by combining back-office and production operations. Post news services
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Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. is making a play for Newsday, which would add to his U.S. media holdings. They include:
•New York Post
•The Wall Street Journal
•Fox News Channel
•Twentieth Century Fox
