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Murdoch’s News Corp. Doesn’t Want N.Y. Daily News, Despite Report

Murdoch’s News Corp. Doesn’t Want N.Y. Daily News, Despite Report

(Bloomberg) -- Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. doesn’t want to buy the New York Daily News, despite a report that the media baron, who already owns the New York Post, wants to acquire a crosstown rival after almost a century of competition.

“We have no interest whatsoever in the Daily News,” Jim Kennedy, a News Corp. spokesman, said in an email.

Media analyst Ken Doctor, citing an unnamed source, reported Wednesday that Murdoch is looking to purchase the paper. The Daily News has struggled under current owner Tronc Inc. and is cutting the newsroom staff in half. The private-equity firm Donerail Group is reportedly preparing a bid for Tronc and will possibly sell publications to individual buyers.

“We have not approached Tronc and will not be approaching Tronc,” Kennedy said.

News Corp., which also owns the Wall Street Journal and newspapers in London and Australia, gets more than 60 percent of its revenue from news and information services. But its growth plans focus more on newer businesses like digital real-estate services. On Wednesday, News Corp. agreed to pay $210 million for Opcity, a platform for matching home buyers and sellers.

The Daily News was founded in 1919 and gained fame for its blaring tabloid headlines. By the 1940s, it was the best-selling newspaper in the country. It’s lost stature in recent years, but has continued to duke it out with the Post on newsstands across New York.

The Post, meanwhile, lays claim to being the oldest continuously published U.S. newspaper. It was founded in 1801 by Alexander Hamilton.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gerry Smith in New York at gsmith233@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Rob Golum

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