Murdoch sees clinching Newsday soon; News Corp. profit jumps

The news came as the global media conglomerate reported that its latest quarterly earnings more than tripled to $2.69 billion on a one-time gain from a stock exchange with Liberty Media Corp.

News Corp. had been reported to be in a tentative deal to acquire Newsday for $580 million when Cablevision weighed in with an offer of $650 million. New York Daily News owner Mortimer Zuckerman has also offered $580 million.

Murdoch said News Corp. was in a "pretty advanced stage" with Newsday's parent company Tribune Co., which went private last year in a deal led by the real estate magnate Sam Zell. Murdoch had indicated earlier that he didn't intend to raise his bid.

"I trust Mr. Zell absolutely," Murdoch said on a conference call with reporters to discuss the company's earnings, adding that he considered Zell to be a man of his word. "We think everything's in hand."

If it succeeds in acquiring Newsday, News Corp. could realize significant savings by consolidating the paper's back-office and production operations with those of News Corp.'s Manhattan-based tabloid, the New York Post, which is a consistent money-loser.

Murdoch declined to detail the Post's losses, but said that a cover price increase to 50 cents planned in the next week or two and other measures there should save about $26 million.

Murdoch also said he didn't expect to encounter regulatory difficulties in acquiring Newsday, and said he was confident of getting the broadcast licenses for the company's two New York TV stations renewed even if the company had to go to court to do it.

News Corp. currently has an exemption to Federal Communications Commission rules that bar one company from owning both a broadcast outlet and a newspaper in the same market.

On another topic, News Corp.'s chief operating officer Peter Chernin indicated the company wasn't currently in active, ongoing discussions with either Yahoo Inc. or Time Warner Inc.'s AOL unit about a possible combination with News Corp.'s MySpace social networking site, despite the recent collapse of Microsoft Corp.'s attempt to acquire Yahoo.