Self-made Mort Zuckerman is both thoughtful and rich
two circumstances which
can make for complicated intellectual weather
since they don't always go together
Despite having a considerable desire
to air his views on the news,
he hates to lose,
so even a billionaire may tire
of today's newspaper biz
because that's certainly not where the money is.
Incidentally please note., that he has often been exceedingly wary
of then Senator, now Secretary of State, Kerry,
and, I suspect, may also consider his buddy-boss Obama,
to be an equally if not more, frightening alarmer.
hzl
2/27/15
Mort Zuckerman hires banker to explore Daily News sale
Modal Trigger
Daily News publisher Mort Zuckerman told staffers he has hired Lazard to explore a possible sale of the tabloid.Photo: Splash News
Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman appears ready to toss in the towel on his money-losing tabloid.
In a memo to a stunned staff on Thursday, Zuckerman announced he had hired investment bank Lazard to explore a sale.
“A few weeks ago, we were approached about our potential interest in selling the Daily News,” the 77-year-old real estate developer said. “Although there were no immediate plans to consider a sale, we thought it would be prudent to explore the possibility and talk to potential buyers and/or investors.”
The Canada-born mogul said Lazard would “help us with the process.”
The memo sent tongues wagging across the media world.
“It has to be an ego buyer,” said one source.
Zuckerman and former partner Fred Drasner bought the paper in 1993 for $36 million.
Strategic buyers from Hearst to Advance Publications to the Tribune Company — which once owned the paper — have zero interest in buying the tabloid, sources said.
Cablevision owns Newsday — but after paying $650 million for the money-losing tabloid in 2008 is getting pressure from some shareholders to get out of the newspaper business rather than add to it.
Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg is one of the richest New Yorkers — but sources say he would have little interest in tackling the paper of the outer borough working class.
Ron Burkle, the head of Yucaipa Cos., has surfaced as a media suitor in the past for properties ranging from the National Enquirer to the Los Angeles Times and Variety. But he never seems to pull the trigger on any media deals, other than a small investment with Radar Online. A spokesman for Yucaipa did not return a call seeking comment.
Current Variety owner Jay Penske is seen as a potential suitor. One source expected Penske to at least take a look. He has demonstrated skill with taking struggling print properties from Variety to Hollywood Life and pushing them to profit in the digital realm.
Another billionaire, Ronald Perelman, the Revlon owner who owns the MacAndrews & Forbes investment company, has eyed the Philadelphia Inquirer in the past. But sources said he was eyeing that title primarily because he wanted to thwart any chance of his brother, who he has been estranged from for years, from buying it.
A spokeswoman for Perelman had not returned a call by presstime.
Perelman and Zuckerman are friends who frolic in the Hamptons in the summer.
Other names to surface include:
- The Ricketts family, owners of DNAInfo as well as the Chicago Cubs.
- New York Observer owner Jared Kushner — who counts Donald Trump as a father in law.
The Daily News does not report its financial results but industry sources estimate it loses $20 million to $30 million a year on revenues estimated to be around $170 million.
A 67 percent hike in the price of the daily paper last June helped cut weekday newsstand circulation by 16 percent in the six months ended Sept. 30. Circulation has dropped even steeper — by about 20 percent, sources said, since.
The Daily News also made a big push into the digital realm about a year ago, unveiling its national site.
By unique visitors to its site fell 32 percent in 2014, according to comScore.
- In-depth articles
The Tycoon
The New Yorker - Jul 2007Zuckerman—a real-estate developer, media proprietor, journalist, and unofficial roving ... Shortly before turning seventy, last month, Mortimer B.Zuckerman decided that it was time for ...Explore: zuckermanA Jobless Recovery Is a Phony Recovery
The Wall Street Journal - Jul 2013In The Wall Street Journal, Mortimer Zuckerman says that more people have left the workforce than got a new job during the recovery—by a factor of nearly three.Explore: joblessWhy they hate Israel
Daily News - Aug 2014Illustration for Mort Zuckerman Israel op-ed article. Drew Dzwonkowski/New York Daily News The greatest obstacle to peace between Israelis and Palestinians the virulent jihadist ...Explore: israel hamas
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