Idle Chatter: News Corp. Exchanges Exchanges

-News Corp. is moving its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq, apparently after the latter committed to a big ad outlay in News Corp.-owned outlets. [NYT] -None other than Rudy Giuliani may replace Bill O'Reilly when the Fox News host gives up his syndicated radio ...

Dec 17 2008

Media Bigs Risk Scratches to Toast Murdoch Book

Last night was the book party for The Man Who Owns the News, Michael Wolff's generally admiring biography of News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch. Shortly after the party got under way, I asked the author -- whose willingness to make himself persona non grata is a big part of his ...

Dec 10 2008

Late Breaks: Sibling Rivalry at News Corp., more

-The New York Post is borrowing stories from The Wall Street Journal -- and some folks at the Journal are none too happy about the association. [Politico] -Nick "Call me Cassandra" Denton is once again thinning the ranks at Gawker Media in anticipation of the AD SPENDING APOCALYPSE ONLY HE ...

Dec 02 2008

Duly Quoted: Was 'WSJ' a Big Fat Waste of Dough?

"We believe Rupert Murdoch is fundamentally wrong in his view of Newspaper and Television Station secular growth prospects. Our mistake in having a BUY on News Corp., despite this view, was not comprehending the degree to which these assets could decline within a single 12-month period." -Outspoken Pali Research analyst ...

Nov 21 2008

What Really Happened to News Corp.'s Xmas Party

In this economic climate, calling off your company's giant, lavish, heavily written-about annual holiday party is bound to stoke speculation -- especially if your company is a controversial media conglomerate that recently made a big bet in a market sector that has been tanking. So take note: The fact that ...

Nov 03 2008

Last Bytes: Apple, News Corp., VMWare

Apple's iPhone goes on sale. Apple's iPhone activation system goes AWOL. Headline of the day: "Six Million iBricks... and Growing."

Jul 11 2008

Idle Chatter: Microhoo Redux; No Ottoway Out

-Microsoft is planning to take another pass at Yahoo, provided it can convince Time Warner or News Corp. to partner in a bid. [WSJ] -News Corp. has decided against selling the Ottaway group of community newspapers, which it acquired last year in its Dow Jones takeover. [E&P] -Lists of Emmy ...

Jul 02 2008

Parsing News Corp: Let's Eliminate the Middle-Man

Looking for the perfect person for the job? Hire yourself.

May 20 2008

Idle Chatter: 'WaPo' Succession, News Corp., more

-His denial notwithstanding, Washington Post executive editor Len Downie will step down in the next eight months, says the Times, because publisher Katherine Weymouth wants him to. [NYT] -News Corp. is starting an ad network for financial news sites, with The Wall Street Journal, Marketwatch and Barron's making up the ...

May 19 2008

Murdoch: All Ur Paper Are Belong to Us

It looks like Rupert Murdoch is going to win the three-way fight for Newsday. Newsday itself and The Wall Street Journal are both reporting that News Corp. and Tribune are close to a deal under which the former would buy the Long Island paper for $580 million and sink it ...

Apr 22 2008

News Corp's Cutest Board Member

"I'm not just some idiotic girl in piggytails yodeling," says Natalie Bancroft in an interview for the March issue of Portfolio, who was photographed by João Canziani. "I'm working my little butt off." The daughter of Joyce Bancroft, a...

Feb 19 2008

'NY Post' Biz Section Bleeding Talent

Now that News Corp. owns the nation's top financial newspaper, will its other U.S. daily's business section go to seed? Two reporters at the New York Post resigned recently. Roddy Boyd, who covers Wall Street, is heading to Fortune (following the path of media beat writer Tim Arango, who made ...

Dec 18 2007

News Corp Rewrites Its Own Story

Warning: This is not a charm offensive. This is something far more powerful. It's a story... and it challenges "conventional wisdom."

Dec 14 2007

Clarifying that Regan-Giuliani Riff

Responding to this post, Regan's lawyer, Bert Fields, writes: "You have, in substance, accused Judith of extortion, a very serious crime of which she is very clearly innocent.... The fact that I said that News Corp.'s prior offer was unacceptable...

Nov 21 2007

Pander Politics

Does John Edwards really have the chutzpah to ask Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to return contributions from News Corp. employees? Leaving aside the hypocrisy, it's not clear why those contributions are more onerous than contributions from people engaged in...

Aug 03 2007

Murdoch Says a Majority Isn't Enough to Buy Dow Jones

Were they talking to me?

Jul 30 2007

News Corp: My MySpace for Your Yahoo!

Reported in The Times today, a possible deal has been discussed for News Corp to trade in MySpace for a 25 per cent stake in Yahoo. According to an anonymous source, talks began before Terry Semel was ousted, but no...

Jun 20 2007

Can the Bancrofts Trust the Murdochs?

"It's a very difficult kind thing to actually put in writing," said Amy Mitchell, deputy director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Jun 05 2007

Today in Murdoch: Devilish Deals

Rupert awards Roger Ailes $7,666,666.

May 10 2007

WSJ on the WSJ

Has Rupert held out a promise of editorial independence for the Wall Street Journal?

May 02 2007

These Two Have Seen It All

Barbara Walters' companions are all smiles when they aren't the subjects of an Oscar special. She's joined by News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch at an awards ceremony honoring women in communications on April 23, 2007. Photograph by: Paul Laurie/PatrickMcMullan.com...

Apr 24 2007

See For Yourself: Judith Regan's Lawsuit

As promised, Judith Regan filed suit this afternoon in Manhattan Superior Court against her former employers: HarperCollins, CEO Jane Friedman and parent company News Corp. Here's the full, 70-page complaint. It should be a good read.

Nov 13 2007

Post-Christmas Catch-Up

For those of you actually working today, a quick recap of some news stories from the long weekend: -The Hollywood Reporter predicts that CBS will replace Katie Couric as anchor of Evening News soon after the presidential election. [Via TVNewser] -Newsweek says Judith Regan has some kind of tape recording ...

Dec 26 2007

Idle Chatter: James Murdoch, Angry Arianna...

-Rupert Murdoch has promoted his son James to the No. 3 job at News Corp., the closest he has come so far to designating a successor. [NYT] -Germany-based Bauer Publishing is buying Emap's consumer magazines, including the British titles FHM and Heat. Bauer bid about $2.3 billion for them. [FT] ...

Dec 07 2007

Two Murdoch Parties, But Wendi Gets Her Way

As Rupert Murdoch's official (if not always beloved) biographer, Michael Wolff had opportunity to learn a lot about the News Corp. chairman's family. One lesson he picked up: Don't screw with Wendi Murdoch's birthday plans. Originally set for next Monday, the party for Wolff's The Man Who Owns the News ...

Dec 02 2008

While Murdoch's In a Mood to Deal...

MySpace Founders Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe are demanding a two-year $50 million contract extension from News Corp. honcho Rupert Murdoch, according to Hollywood blogger Nikki Finke. But Finke, who used to work for the Murdoch's New York Post, doesn't...

Jun 26 2007

The Fight to Block Murdoch's 'Newsday' Bid is On

Rupert Murdoch doesn't even have a deal to buy Newsday yet, just the outlines of one, but already the protests are starting. As I've reported, while regulators could find various reasons to block a News Corp. acquisition of the Tribune-owned paper, they might easily overlook them all in light of ...

Apr 22 2008

Extra Credit, Tuesday Edition

News No. 1 in the world with $67.8 bil: News Corp is now worth more than Time Warner. Some points about the Superfund: Alexander Campbell asks pertinent questions. Dumpster Divers Go Mainstream In Thrifty Germany: My favorite WSJ Page...

Oct 23 2007

MySpace Is Mike's Place

MySpace, the social networking site owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., will begin offering serialized, 90-second installments of Prom Queen, a made-for-the Web drama by former Disney chief Michael Eisner.

Mar 29 2007

MySpace Founders Re-Up at News Corp.

Remember how MySpace founders Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe had to sign a new contract with News Corp. sometime this month or pack up their desks? Well, they're not going anywhere. A well-placed News Corp. source tells me they've reached a new agreement, which the company will announce any day ...

Oct 17 2007