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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neocon who wrote (38721)	9/21/2000 7:37:56 AM
From: Tom Clarke	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

More like less, but we'll take whatever we can get. I'd like to see Conrad Black buy more American papers.

To: Neocon who wrote (38721)	9/21/2000 9:11:28 PM
From: Tom Clarke	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Still think Murdoch is carrying on the tradition of Colonel McCormick? How Uber-Republican Rupert Murdoch Became Major Donor to Gore's Super-Glitzy Showbiz Fund-Raiser By David Carr Thursday , September 21 08:03 p.m. Scan the list of people who supported Al Gore's record-breaking fund-raiser at Radio City Music Hall that featured the likes of Bette Midler, Jimmy Buffett, Paul Simon and k.d. lang, and there's a New York publisher who is in the midst of a tabloid fight to the death. But if you were guessing that name belonged to Daily News owner Mortimer Zuckerman, you'd be wrong. Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp., is listed as a ''vice chair'' of the Sept. 14 event, which means he raised at least $50,000 hard cash. In doing so, the legendarily conservative Murdoch -- as first reported in the New York Observer -- joined the likes of liberal stalwarts Harvey Weinstein and Jann Wenner in supporting Gore's candidacy. It's not as if Murdoch just had a political epiphany. A simple matter of News Corp.'s acquisition of Chris-Craft Industries and its 10 TV stations, including one in New York, seems to be the catalyst behind Murdoch's participation in the pageant of democracy. Since News Corp. already owns another TV station along with the New York Post, regulatory approval of the cornering of the New York media market might not be forthcoming so easily. Federal Communications Commission regulations prohibit ownership of two of the top four stations in a market. Right now, neither New York-region station (WWOR and WNYW) rates in the top four, but reports indicate that the FCC isn't likely to sign off on a deal that allows News Corp. to operate a triumvirate composed of two stations and a tabloid. Analysts have said that if Murdoch had to dump one of the three assets, the Post would be forced to walk the plank. (The $5.4 billion deal would also give News Corp. stations that reach more than 35 percent of the U.S. population, another regulatory trigger.) Murdoch is expected to argue that the Post would fold without his willingness to endure huge losses --- and now that he has cut the price in half to 25 cents, he won't have much trouble making a case that the barrels of red ink make it unattractive to a buyer. ''I don't think that he's just doing it because he has suddenly fallen in love with Gore,'' says a publishing executive who has raised money for Gore. ''The FCC is going to have at least two openings in the next administration and I think that he's very interested in who those people might be and what kind of view they will take of his business.'' In fact, Andrew Jay Scwartzman, president of the Media Access Project, says that he expects that four out of five of the commissioners may turn over within the year. He thinks Murdoch has done the same math. ''As thrilled as I am at the prospect of recent immigrants entering into the political process, Mr. Murdoch's track record suggests that this contribution is motivated by opportunism, not a conversion to liberalism,'' Schwartzman says. ''I'm sure the check won't bounce and I hope Vice President Gore spends it well. A News Corp. spokesman says there's no hidden motive in the donation. ''He knows the vice president and holds him in high regard,'' says Gary Ginsberg. ''I think it reflects the diversity of the company, which is by no means monolithic.'' Ginsberg says that News Corp. has given money to both sides in the current presidential election. Rick Hess, deputy press secretary of the Democratic National Committee, confirms that Murdoch raised at least $50,000 as a vice chair of the event. At $6.5 million, the fund-raiser was the largest ''hard money'' event in the history of New York politics. Hess declined to say whether Murdoch had contributed in the past. ''We don't make a habit on specific individual donors, but we do disclose every donor publicly,'' says Hess. Murdoch has shown a fair amount of government savvy in the past. Maureen O'Connell, former special counsel to the commission, left the agency in 1996 and now serves as one of News Corp.'s top lobbyists to the FCC, according to the Center for Public Integrity. News Corp. is among the top five media contributors to the current presidential campaign and has spent almost $10 million on federal lobbyists in the last four years. And the skirmishes over ownership of local stations will look like small potatoes should Murdoch successfully vie for DirecTV as has been rumored. DirecTV is owned by Hughes electronics, which is controlled by GM. That company has made it clear that it wants to unload Hughes, which means the biggest provider of satellite TV will be up for grabs. Murdoch has satellites all over the globe except in the U.S. DirecTV would fold neatly into Sky Global Networks, a property News Corp. has filed with the SEC to spin off. Given News Corp.'s television, cable, content and extant satellite assets, it's certain that it would be spending a lot of time in front of the FCC if it pulled off the epic deal. ''We don't give money to influence the process. It reflects our interest in participating. Nothing else,'' says Ginsberg. powerfulmedia.com