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Al Gore's ultimate revenge

DCblogger's picture
Fri, 12/12/2008 - 3:45pm — DCblogger

Could the stars be aligning for a Google-N.Y. Times merger?

As the New York Times Co. is negotiating with lenders over its debt, speculation has been floating around the blogosphere, pushing the premise that Google Inc. should acquire the beleaguered Gray Lady. The thesis (or, rumor, as some would put it) has been around since the beginning of the year, with SpliceToday on Thursday reintroducing the idea of the unorthodox union of the stalwart of old media with the scion of new media.

Al Gore sits in Google's Board of Directors. I hope Google makes him publisher of the NYT.

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Murdoch is after the NYTimes as well. And, per biographer whose

By jawbone on Fri, 12/12/2008 - 5:09pm

name I didn't catch but heard on radio this week, Murdoch feels he will get whatever he goes after--at some point in time and at some price point.

I'd rather see Google gobble the Times--I think.

Biographer said Murdoch's new wife is more liberal and is changing Murdoch's views somwhat. Has anyone noticed that in his papers or on FOX cable?

I'd love to see Gore in charge!

(And where did this comment go earlier??? I know I posted it. I think I know....)

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amberglow's picture

i think now that he has the WSJ,

By amberglow on Fri, 12/12/2008 - 5:18pm

he's more concerned with just stealing their revenue and their thunder.

NYT is a family business, and has been slowly dying for ages -- i'd say they'd never actually sell for real, but will do more and more "partnership" things that will bring cash in in one form or another. (as Hearst has--they're a family business too, and are relying on joint venture type things like with Oprah and other outsiders)

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DCblogger's picture

unlike NewsCorp

By DCblogger on Fri, 12/12/2008 - 5:33pm

Google is solvent, they can buy the NYT for cash, NewsCorp will have to borrow. Don't think anyone is lending for dodgy buyouts in this environment.

The gossip I hear about Wendy Murdoch is that she is a Chinese agent.

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ElizabethF's picture

The way I feel about the Times

By ElizabethF on Fri, 12/12/2008 - 5:36pm

is I do not care if it goes under. I personally think that Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. has made some pretty bad decisions about content; Judith Miller, Blair and the hires he has supported.

He has to ask himself: Who ever thought the New York Times would go under (1Billion in debt) after 112 years being controlled by the the same family.

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amberglow's picture

me too--

By amberglow on Fri, 12/12/2008 - 5:53pm

it's really awful in so many ways, and gets more and more so every year.

this was interesting, and spells trouble for us -- about newspapers (i read it on the plane home yesterday) -- FT: Who will mourn local newspapers? --

... Up to a point, Lord Keller. The failure of papers will deprive US readers - and those in countries where similar forces are at work - of plenty of useful information. But, let us face it, the industry also plays host to an immense amount of duplication and self-indulgence.
...
These days, they can do so free, which eliminates the need for a lot of coverage to be duplicated. Aggregation sites such as Google News have shone a harsh spotlight on the overlap and repetition in national coverage in hundreds of newspapers.
...
The question for national and international reporting is not whether city papers survive but whether news organisations such as The New York Times do. Clearly, if they did not, and blogs were left alone to provide coverage of Washington and Iraq, there would be a problem.

The honest answer is: we do not know. The New York Times, with its thriving online readership and global clout, seems in better shape that The New York Times Company, which has been indifferently managed by the Sulzberger family. A change of ownership might fix that.

My working assumption, in more ways than one, is that consolidation - or, more accurately, eradication - of local newspapers will strengthen the editorial position of the remaining elite: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, the Financial Times etc. ...

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Davidson's picture

We need the govt. to fully fund public broadcasting

By Davidson on Fri, 12/12/2008 - 6:17pm

Reagan dismantled it and now we need to restore it. We desperately need to ensure its independence from financial pressures and government interference.

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DCblogger's picture

Megan Beyer for PBS

By DCblogger on Fri, 12/12/2008 - 6:57pm

we need to do more then fully fund it, we need to insist on quality. No more Leherer recycling republican lies.

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gmoke's picture

Googlezon!

By gmoke on Fri, 12/12/2008 - 10:01pm

Sounds like the 2004 flash movie about new media, corporate consolidation, and copyright is coming true much faster than expected. Except it was google combined with amazon that was beating a beleagured NYTimes in the film which you can see at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT9ho2G0N_Y

Solar is civil defense

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