Murdoch, Zuckerman may combine NY printing: source
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitter rivals New York Post owner Rupert Murdoch and New York Daily News owner Mortimer Zuckerman may combine the printing, distribution and back office operations of their New York newspapers, a source familiar with the discussions said on Tuesday.
The source confirmed a New York Times's website report about the preliminary discussions.
The tabloid newspapers have waged a decades-long battle for readers and advertisers through the streets of New York City.
The papers have rarely wasted an opportunity to go for the jugular, attacking each other on its pages. The Post frequently refers to the Daily News as "The Daily Snooze," while the Daily News has referred to the Post as the "New York Pest."
The talks are related to finding a way to work together without having to create a joint operating agreement, which involves creating a separate company.
Representatives of real estate developer Zuckerman, who owns the Daily News, and News Corp, owner of the Post, declined comment.
The talks come after Murdoch walked away from discussions in May to buy Tribune Co's Newsday newspaper for $580 million, a deal that would have helped Murdoch's Post offset some of its losses by combining back-office and printing operations.
Cablevision Systems Corp reached a deal two days later to buy Newsday for $650 million.
(Reporting by Kenneth Li and Robert MacMillan; Editing by Gary Hill, Phil Berlowitz)
