Mort Zuckerman Also Wants to Be a Senator
Another day, another compelling argument for refusing to allow Mike Bloomberg back into the nation the next time he jets off to Bermuda for the weekend: now Mort Zuckerman wants to run for Senate.
Mort Zuckerman May Run For Senate
Mort Zuckerman's futile effort to keep up with Mike Bloomberg continues! The real estate developer and Daily News owner—who considered making a bid for BusinessWeek last fall when he heard Bloomberg L.P. was in the running before dropping out of the running—is now thinking about following in his frenemy's footsteps…
• Sundance was a lower-key affair this year thanks to the economy. [WWD]
• Layoffs: Rumor has it The Weinstein Co. cut as many as 30 staffers today. And a big round of layoffs could come to CBS next week. [Gawker, LAT]
• The Vancouver Olympics could cost NBC as much as $250 million. [THR]
• Keith Olbermann's ratings…
• The New York Times and Wall Street Journal are feuding once again. [DF]
• Thanks to a $200 million investment in new printers, Mort Zuckerman's Daily News can now print any page of the paper in color! Exciting! [Crain's]
• Does the fact Glenn Beck is a highly paid pitchman for a gold company explain why he promotes…
• A big round of layoffs landed at the Associated Press today. [BI, NYT]
• Budget Travel isn't shutting down, contrary to rumors. But its owner is looking to sell the magazine or find new investors, however. [AdAge]
• Time.com's managing editor, Josh Tyrangiel, will become the editor of BusinessWeek when Bloomberg LP…
Letterman's New Tact, Babs' Big Week & Penn's Passing
• David Letterman appears to be through discussing the little sex scandal he now finds himself in. The subject doesn't come up on tonight's show. [NYP]
• Gourmet may have gone down, but the editor of Saveur says the mag is doing well (and that she's been flooded with resumes, not surprisingly). Meanwhile, while Condé…
Anyone Have a Magazine to Sell to Mort Zuckerman?
Mort Zuckerman's latest attempt to expand his media empire has failed, it seems. Reuters is reporting the real estate developer and owner of the Daily News and US News has decided to drop out of the race to acquire BusinessWeek, possibly because he sensed execs at the mag's parent company, McGraw-Hill, are more…
Comcast-NBC, The Leno Boycott & Bravo's New Shows
• Comcast denied the rumors yesterday, but it now appears the cable giant is involved in talks to take a controlling stake in NBC Universal. [NYT, NYT]
• It hasn't been smooth sailing for Jay Leno since his primetime show debuted—ratings have been slipping and the critical buzz has been lousy—but now it looks like NBC…
Mort's Bid For BW, Condé Rumors & Cable Ratings
• Who hasn't looked at buying BusinessWeek by now? Daily News and US News owner Mort Zuckerman appears to be the latest mogul to join the party. [BW]
• The wave of job cuts at Condé Nast could begin in a few weeks or in a few months, depending on who you ask. But either way, it's going to be ugly. [NYO]
• Fox News…
Mort Zuckerman's NYU Scholarship Students Are Bernie Madoff's Latest Victims
Last December, when Bernie Madoff's victim list was made public, we learned about Daily News publisher Mort Zuckerman's "significant exposure" to the swindler's Ponzi scheme, about $30-million in "significant exposure" to be exact. Now the pain is really setting in.
The Sale of The Globe, Olbermann's Worst Week Ever
• The New York Times Co. is now publicly shopping the Boston Globe. Meanwhile, the list of potential acquirers is getting longer: The firm that bought the San Diego Union-Tribune is now a possible buyer. [AP, NYT]
• Related: The Globe is going to start charging to access its Web site. [E&P]
• News Corp. and GE were…
Funny People Disappoints, Dobbs Controversy Continues
• Funny People debuted at No. 1 at the box office this weekend, although it was still the worst opening for an Adam Sandler movie in five years. [Reuters]
• Mort Zuckerman is selling shares of his real estate company to pump $50 million into the Daily News to pay for new printing presses. [WSJ]
• Lou Dobbs has become…
The Times Sells WQXR, Murdoch to Buy the 'News'?
• The New York Times Co. is selling its classical radio station WQXR to WNYC Radio and Univision as part of a "complex deal." One thing that isn't complex: The sale will pump a much-needed $45 million into the paper's coffers. [NYT]
• Is Rupert Murdoch planning to buy the Daily News from Mort Zuckerman? That's what…
The Apple Building?
Darcy Stacom, the commercial real estate broker who convinced Mort Zuckerman's Boston Properties to pay $3.5 billion to buy the GM building in 2008, has suggested that Apple cough up a few bucks and pay Zuckerman for the right to rename the tower, so it doesn't sport the name of a bankrupt automaker. Let's hope Steve…
The Friday Party Report
The Four Seasons celebrated its 50th anniversary last night and a predictably large crowd of media personalities, politicos, and powerbrokers turned out for the occasion. Just a few of the people on hand to celebrate the event with co-owners Julian Niccolini and Alex von Bidder (left, Erin Fetherston): Barry Diller, …
Happy Birthday
Real estate mogul/Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman turns 72 today. Restaurateur Drew Nieporent is turning 54. Angelina Jolie is 34. Supermodel Bar Refaeli is turning 24. Comedians Horatio Sanz and Rob Huebel are both turning 40. Russell Brand is turning 34. Noah Wyle is 38. Actor Scott Wolf is turning 41. Singer Nikka…
Citigroup Center Bites the Dust
Back in December, real estate kingpin Mort Zuckerman dropped the news that he planned to change the name of Citigroup's headquarters in Midtown. ("We're tired of the fact that every time Citibank has a problem all of the TV cameras come and photograph the Citigroup Center sign on the front of our building," an exec…
Mort Zuckerman's Plan To Save Newspapers Will Be Foiled By His Inability to Do Math
Mort Zuckerman thinks letting newspapers run bingo games will save journalism. Let's see if his own newspaper is competent enough to run promotional games!
Plunging Profits at Disney, Mort's Plan to Save Papers
• Walt Disney reported that profits plunged 46% last quarter. [Variety, WSJ]
• Mort Zuckerman's plan to save newspapers involves bingo. Really! [NYM]
• The New York Times Co. has reached a deal with the unions at the Boston Globe, although it may take a few weeks to vote on the compromise. [E&P]
• NBC's Washington…
Tyra's Day In Court, Sean Penn's Split
• Tyra Banks took the stand to testify against accused stalker Brady Green yesterday and explained how she's had to hire a bodyguard and driver as a result of the incident. She also said she's no longer jogging outside and has been forced to hire a personal trainer, but we're pretty sure she had one of those long…
