News Corp. Bid for Newsday May Face Political Snags

News Corp's bid to buy Newsday will face regulatory hurdles, but political attacks on the deal could be more of a long-term problem as News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch tries to seal the deal. News Corp has struck only an informal agreement to acquire Newsday, based in Long Island (NY) for $580 million from Tribune Co. Public-interest groups and lawmakers are signaling they are ready to fight the deal on grounds that it gives News Corp. too much media power. "This can't happen," said Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press, a public-interest group that focuses on media and telecommunications issues. "He uses his media properties to advance his own business interests." Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause in New York, called the potential acquisition ''a step back that will hurt our democracy,'' and Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, has also come out against it. Newsday's acquisition by News Corp. wouldn't automatically trigger a review by the Federal Communications Commission. But it would come up during the continuing dispute about license renewals for the company's two New York City-area television stations. The FCC can't block the Newsday purchase, but could prompt News Corp. to sell one or both of the stations if the license renewals aren't granted. The property in greater jeopardy is New Jersey station WWOR-TV, since News Corp. only holds a temporary waiver to own the station. The company received a permanent waiver to own New York station WNYW-TV and the New York Post because the paper was unprofitable.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120906000626542135.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)

Groups Oppose Murdoch's Newsday Bid (Associated Press)
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/04/25/daily.2/