Murdoch Sees Antitrust Concerns

WASHINGTON — News Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch said Wednesday that acquiring Long Island’s Newsday newspaper would benefit his New York Post, but acknowledged that U.S. antitrust officials might seek to block the acquisition.

News Corp. is one of several bidders for Newsday, a Tribune Co. publication. In response to questions after an address to Georgetown University students here, Mr. Murdoch said adding Newsday “will make the New York Post viable and give it a much more secure future.” However, he said the antitrust division of the U.S. Justice Department “may not let us have it.”

News Corp. last year acquired Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Murdoch said he views The Wall Street Journal as “a very unique opportunity” to reach an affluent and influential audience and to create an alternative national newspaper at a time when many regional newspapers are shrinking. He added that “we’ve hardly started working on it yet.”

Asked about endorsements for the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Mr. Murdoch said that “we haven’t made up our minds yet.” He noted The Wall Street Journal has a history of not endorsing presidential candidates but the New York Post endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama during New York’s Democratic presidential primary.

“I don’t know what we’ll do in the general election,” Mr. Murdoch said.

– By Judith Burns

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