April 21, 2008
Newsweek: Bloomberg Considering Buying the Times
Newsweek has a feature on Rupert Murdoch and his desire to take on the NY Times with his new purchase, the Wall Street Journal. But more interesting for media watchers might be the end of the fourth paragraph, where Newsweek reports:
"The fight could escalate in unknown ways if billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ends up acquiring the Times. As NEWSWEEK has learned, top associates of the onetime information executive are encouraging him to do just that."Really? We suppose this is more feasible than Bloomberg running for a third term, and it would certainly given him a challenge. And has been less than three weeks since the last prediction that Bloomberg would buy the Gray Lady. A source tells Newsweek, "[The Times] is clearly a brand that Bloomberg could help preserve and that he cares about immensely … and could pay a competitive price."
Last year, Newsweek put Bloomberg on its cover, touting the mayor's 2008 presidential chances (it turns out they weren't so good!).
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Good news! The Gray Lady has been quite the Old Maid lately. It's about time she got overhauled and groomed for the future. I hope he has some good ideas for that. I hope those ideas include not getting women to tart themselves up in order to be liked by the boys. Maureen Dowd is such an affront to feminism, and she's quickly becoming an relic of the hot-flash crowd.
Old people are a readership that a newspaper should be built on. (They don't hang around long enough!) I say that, not being a spring chicken myself.
In with the new!
This could be a great thing in my opinion. Bloomberg is a well respected moderate and his business news could make the Times even better. The Times needs fresh, intelligent blood.
Ha ha -- I meant "that a newspaper should NOT be built on!"
Haven't had my coffee yet, sorry!
What, the Times isn't bland enough? He'll strip the paper of whatever remaining character it has, like he stripped the city of whatever remaining character it has.
Aren't there any laws prohibiting someone from owning more than one newspaper in a city? I know Murdoch and News Corp got some special dispensation for their TV stations, but this is getting a little ridiculous. One man should not control so many media outlets, unless he's Kim Jung Il, Mohammar Khaddafi or Vladimir Putin.