With major media companies divesting newspapers for their slow growth and costly operations, Rupert Murdoch, whose family found its fortune in the newspaper business, is embracing them. Murdoch's News Corp. took a minor leap of faith with its purchase on Thursday, Sept. 28, of two newspaper groups that generate 28 weekly papers serving Queens and Brooklyn. The New York Times reported an unnamed source revealed News Corp. paid $16 million for the TimesLedger and Courier-Life newspaper groups. The additions should be a good strategic fit allowing News Corp., through its daily tabloid — New York Post — to reach the Brooklyn-Queens market that media experts says is a stronghold of its crosstown rival The Daily News. The New York Times points out News Corp. can now offer its advertisers a cheaper advertising venue compared with the Post. In addition, since analysts say that news weeklies traditionally are more profitable than their daily counterparts because of loyal local advertisers and cheaper production costs, the weeklies could offset the $15 million to $30 million the Post is reportedly annually losing. And that's what the shrewd Murdoch is hoping. —Gerald Magpily
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