News Corp's Murdoch sees Newsday as good fit: WSJ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - News Corp's Rupert Murdoch, in his first public acknowledgment of his interest in buying the Long Island Newsday newspaper, said it would be a good fit with the company's New York Post, but could face hurdles with regulators, the Wall Street Journal reported on its online edition on Wednesday.

News Corp (NWS) Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch said acquiring Long Island's Newsday daily paper would benefit his New York Post, but acknowledged U.S. antitrust officials might seek to block the acquisition, the Wall Street Journal said.

In response to questions after an address to students at Georgetown University in Washington, Murdoch said that adding Newsday "will make the New York Post viable and give it a much more secure future," the Journal said.

But Murdoch said the antitrust division of the U.S. Justice Department "may not let us have it."

News Corp, which also owns Dow Jones & Co, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, is one of several potential suitors for Newsday, the Journal has reported.

Newsday is owned by debt-laden Tribune Co, which went private in a buyout last year led by real estate tycoon Sam Zell.

(Reporting by Peter Kaplan; Editing by Andre Grenon)