Bloomberg says not interested in newspaper business

By Edith Honan and Robert MacMillan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Monday dismissed media reports that he could be a suitor for the New York Times Co, saying he is not interested in getting into the newspaper industry.

"I am not going to go into the newspaper business," Bloomberg said when asked by reporters at a press conference to discuss city affairs. "I am not a newspaper person."

The comments come after intense speculation Bloomberg could join the ranks of billionaires who have the financial heft to rescue a deteriorating U.S. newspaper business.

The Times arguably may be the crown jewel of U.S. journalism, but it is dealing with a steady decline in ad revenue at its flagship paper and other papers such as the Boston Globe, a slump that has hit the entire industry.

The Times's financial performance and sliding share price has sparked anger among its outside investors, some of whom have publicly blasted its executives for poor management.

The New York Post reported on Monday that some members of the Times's controlling Ochs-Sulzberger family would be receptive to the idea of a protector.

Bloomberg, who founded financial news and information service Bloomberg LP before becoming mayor, has been encouraged by his close associates to make a bid for the Times and save it from shareholder anger, Newsweek said in its April 28 edition.

Bloomberg could take the company private and "help protect the brand" with his estimated $11.6 billion personal fortune, Newsweek said, quoting an unnamed source.