Big Media Aggregated: Disney and News Corp goes shopping

By SDH Disney Interactive Studios (DIS) the game arm of the media and entertainment giant has reportedly agreed to purchase Chinese company Gamestar. DIS general manager Graham Hopper feels good about the deal saying Gamestar will play a significant roll in DIS’s global growth plan. Wonder if Gamestar’s 90 staff members fit into that growth plan? In other shopping news, News Corp’s Fox Networks, the company’s year-old online advertising network will announce today that it has bought control of European video ad network Utarget as part of a move to expand in Europe and Asia. Wendi Deng Murdoch, wife of Rupert is probably the mind behind this strategic swallowing. The Utarget deal comes after U.S.-based Fox Interactive Media (FIM) reorganized staff last week in anticipation of a possible revenue target shortfall. The reshuffling, long in the works, will also see the launch of FIM's long-anticipated U.S. online advertising network, called the FIM Audience Network.

Lachlan Murdoch's quest to buy Consolidated Media Holdings, dead in the womb

By SDH Lachlan Murdoch's comeback has just hit a second road block. When the deal was announced, it included Murdoch, and fellow media man James Packer who agreed along with Murdoch to go 50-50 on the deal. But then the deal’s private equity backer SPO Partners got cold feet and backed out of the deal leaving Lachlan and his buddy James scrambling for another deep pocketed private equity group which they did find in Providence Equity Partners. Well now the deal has reportedly fell apart again over price and because now James Packer only wants a 25% stake in the deal, leaving poor Lachlan with the task of trying to convince his backers to take a bigger chunk. So it looks like all has failed and Lachlan Murdoch is moving on announcing in a letter released by the Australian Securities Exchange today, that the consortium was abandoning the planned acquisition of a 75% stake in Consolidated Media Holdings. Why didn't Lachlan just give his daddy Rupert a call and said “dad, I really need this deal to happen” We think Rupe would have come to his sons rescue right away.

Rupert Murdoch is taking his campaign to win Long Island's Newsday public

By SDH For the first time since it was reported that he was interested in Tribune's Newsday newspaper, News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch, the most powerful man in media said publicly he thinks Newsday would be a good fit for his tabloidy New York Post. We're not sure how that would go over with Newsday staffers if Murdoch were to land the paper, but we're guessing there would be a lot of bickering on both sides. Exactly how, The New York Post would benefit isn't clear but a Newsday/New York Post link up would allow Murdoch to spread the dishy celeb and business headlines out on the Island. Wait, we just answered the question on how the Post would benefit. After his recent address at Georgetown University in Washington, Murdoch said adding Newsday "will make the New York Post viable and give it a much more secure future". So is Murdoch implying that currently the future of the New York Post isn’t too secure? Is he saying that if a deal like this doesn't happen, we could see the New York Post sold off or come to an end? Such statements can set off an avalanche of speculations. Wonder when Jared "Paperboy" Kushner is going to make his interest in Newsday public?

Elisabeth Murdoch believes in Barack Obama

By SDH Elisabeth (Liz) Murdoch is letting knows who she wants to be the next President of the great U.S. of A and she is throwing a fund raiser all the way across the Atlantic to help to make sure it happens. Not following in daddy Rupert Murdoch's footsteps when it comes to politics, Elisabeth is throwing a snazzy fundraiser for Barack Obama while Rupe donated $2,300 to Hillary Clinton's campaign fund last year. Will Daddy and daughter go head to head with their picks? Then again maybe Liz isn't worried about that at all as many believe the race for the Democratic nomination is already over. In the most high-profile example yet of glitzy fundraising bashes for the US presidential hopefuls spreading across the Atlantic, a string of notable US ex-pats with jobs in media, the arts and finance will gather at the Notting Hill home Murdoch shares with her husband, PR guru Matthew Freud. Murdoch's daughter hosts fundraiser for Obama [Media Guardian]

Newspapers Aggregated: Has young paperboy Jared Kushner joined the pack of vultures reportedly circling Long Island's Newsday?

By SDH The list of potential bidders for Tribune's Newsday is getting longer. Early out it was reported that Rupert Murdoch who seems to want to buy everything was interested in the paper, along with other prominent New York money bags like Cablevisions Chuck Dolan and New York Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman. Now comes word that New York Observer ruler Jared Kushner may have little tingle for the Newsday as well. Tribune is said to be looking for payout in the $500 million region for the paper but there is no word that the company has started to take bids. In other newspaper news, The Wall Street Journal recently swallowed by News Corp, will go on sale in London taking on other business papers like Pearson's Financial Times. The Journal, with an initial print run of around 3,500 copies, will cost 250 pence, well above the 150 pence Financial Times cover price, but not out of line with the price of other non-UK papers sold in Britain. Yeah, like we didn't see this one coming. How long until an Australian version is born?

Jeff Bewkes is a green CEO + The Wall Street Journal changing one section at a time and more.....

By SDH Jeff Bewkes was already making CEO money before becoming CEO of Time Warner. He made a sexy $19.4 million in 2007 [AP] For those of you who care, Emmis Communications is unloading Country Sampler magazine. Something about it not fitting with the current image or something like that. [FolioMag] Another Murdoch looks to make a mark in the media business. Elisabeth Murdoch’s company, Shine bought Reveille Productions, which produces “Ugly Betty,” and “The Office.” She may have already bought her mark. [NYT] The Wall Street Journal is revamping it’s “Market Place” section and this has some newsroom employees wondering what their roll will be [NYT] Fox Newser Chris Wallace calls out colleagues who he says Took Obama’s comments about race out of context. OK so how long until Wallace is booted? Doesn’t he know that Fox News is dedicated to pushing the republican agenda? [Media Talk]

Is Rupert Murdoch Wendi Whipped?

By SDH With all his power and billions of dollars, one would think Rupert Murdoch can't be dominated. One would think he would have someone, especially his wife wrapped around his finger. Nope! According to GQ Magazine's "Most Whipped List", Rupert Murdoch is one of the most henpecked husbands on the planet. The list also includes former Time Warner boss Geri Levin. But GQ failed to include other whippees like Les Moonves, Sumner Redstone and Bob Iger. Wendi Deng was just another twentysomething MBA (and thirty-eight years his junior) when she netted the Aussie billionaire master of the universe, whom she seems to enjoy belittling in public. According to New York magazine, she's said to have revealed that he uses Viagra (but doesn't need it) and once asked him in front of colleagues, "Are you going deaf, old man?" In January, Deng got her mighty mogul to play waiter at a women's-empowerment event in Davos, Switzerland, much to the amusement of Murdoch watchers the world over. Then again, waiting on Deng has helped Murdoch gain access to the multibillion-dollar Chinese-media market, so who's using whom? Under the guidance of his new-wife-cum-guru, Laurie Perlman, the former CEO of Time Warner has remade himself into a New Age–spa keeper. He once described a drum circle at the couple’s Moonview Sanctuary as “a ritual, archetypal setting to get at the most fundamental questions of life.… Instead of a male hierarchy, it becomes almost feminine in its openness.” But hey, if you’d orchestrated one of the most disastrous mergers in business history, you’d seek inner peace, too.

Rupert Murdoch beefing up Dow Jones

BY SDH Dow Jones has long been a blip in comparison to other financial media companies like Thomson Bloomberg and Reuters, and now that both Thomson and Reuters are awaiting word on their pending join up, Dow Jones will end up being an even smaller blip. But New Dow Jones ruler Rupert Murdoch is working to make sure his little blip is still visible and has a voice to compete with the big boys. King Rupe's News Corp in an effort to bulk up Dow Jones' financial news coverage overseas, has purchased Betten Financial News and Dow Jones enterprise media group President Clare Hart spits the usual on why! We're dedicated to increasing our coverage of local markets in local languages, and this acquisition helps us to better serve the needs of our European customers," Dow Jones buys Betten Financial News [Reuters]

Is The New York Times Company slowly on its way to being taken over? The Ochs-Sulzberger family could be in for the fight of their media lives

BY SDH I am sure many have thought about it, many have even put word out, but at the end of the day, none have made a serious run at it. What am I talking about? Well the tightly held New York Times Co of course. If the majority owners aren't even willing to think about a sale, then any attempt to make an offer may be useless, unless you can go deep down in your pockets and the pockets of friends and come back up with a sum, the controlling Ochs-Sulzberger family can't refuse. See the key to break kung fu grips like these, is to make an offer that will spark in-fighting and somewhat destabilize the formation. Rupert Murdoch did this and won Dow Jones. Microsoft is trying the same thing with Yahoo! I love families like the Ochs-Sulzberger family, the Bancrofts and the Mohns who control German media giant Bertelsmann. They put out this image that says, "we cannot be bought". Well we all know the Bancrofts can be bought, but what about these other controlling families who keep their hands in the day to day of their companies? Some shareholders have been fighting the Ochs-Sulzberger family to loosen their grip on the company but the family never budges. Now hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners has upped its stake in the company from 12 percent to about 19 percent and is fighting to get four board seats. The investment firm says it isn’t pleased with what they basically call ass dragging on the digital front by New York Times brass. Is this the prelude to an even bolder move? With four board seats, Harbinger will have a loud voice next to the Ochs-Sulzberger’s. Maybe it is time for a new time at the New York Times but what will it take for this to happen? My guess on what the Sulzberger family's anwswer would be.... "A Cold Day In Hell"

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news...

Time Warner Spent $3.6 Million trying to get congress to lean their way We're sure big companies like Time Warner have budgets specifically set up for lobbying. In 2007 Time Warner spent $3.6 million lobbying on television, satellite and broadband-related legislation. Reed Elsevier running from ad recession? Reed Elsevier is unloading its Business Information unit in what some see as a bail out of dealing with an ad recession. The company is trading up publishing business information titles for ChoicePoint, a risk management information provider. Yawn! UK Newspapers enjoying spike in web traffic due to U.S. based stories The US presidential elections, the death of Heath Ledger and Britney Spears' ongoing problems produced record traffic for the UK's newspaper websites during January. Now imagine what would happen if Britney gets pregnant for one of her creepy male hanger-ons. BSkyB will not give in without a fight Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB announced that it will fight to the death against a ruling ordering it to sell the majority of its 17.9% stake in ITV.

Afternoon Wire....

-BY SDH MTV is returning to its roots in an effort to take on Yahoo Music and Myspace. But isn't Yahoo Music being killed? [JR] Do we really need another online video site? Actor Damon Wayans, hurting for a hit movie is putting on his entrepreneurial hat with the soon to be launched wayouttv.com. Hopefully it wont end up like Revver.com [LAT] Vanity Fair's Mike Wolfe tells us something we all already know [VF] What's with Viacom and video game's? There is a little rumor that they are eying yet another video game publisher, Take-Two Interactive which is currently ran by former BMG Music boss Strauss "In the house" Zelnick [GI] Awww! Rupert Murdoch will attend his mother's 99th birthday. Ok so we are adding to the total fucking question as to why is this news? Of course he is. Happy B-Day Mrs. Murdoch! [AP] Rush & Malloy confuses rap mogul Jay-z with that skinny white kid Aaron Carter? They have got to be kidding! And what's with the corny headline? A weak attempt at being cool? [NYDN]

And now this morning's worthy media business news...

New York Times: With the New York Post's endorsment of Barack Obama, does this really splitsville for Rupert Murdoch and Hillary Clinton? Their newfound friendship seemingly came to a crashing end last Thursday. There was the headline on the front page of The Post, right next to “Cop Sex Ring,” for all to see: “Post Endorses Obama.” New York Post: Is anyone surprised that Google has injected itself into the whole Yahoo! Microsoft flirting? In a terse broadside of what could be a protracted war, Google's chief legal officer, David Drummond, hammered on concerns about Microsoft's software monopoly and its history of clashing with regulators over antitrust issues. AP: News Corp not interested in Yahoo! and today is earnings report day Apparently people were speculating that News Corp which is still digesting it's acquisition of Dow Jones would be interested in Yahoo! We're sure Rupe and his team looked at the company from a far but we don't see Rupert Murdoch dropping that much cash on anything right now. And besides, Microsoft is offering $44 Billion, way more than Yahoo! is worth right now and word is they are balking at the offer price saying it is too low.

Next week is Super Tuesday earnings report week

-SDH Next week's entertainment line up is looking to be an exciting one. On Monday, News Corp will report its 2nd Quarter Fiscal 2008 results. On this call analysts will be waiting to hear about any plans in the works for the recently acquired Dow Jones as well why they decided to not free up the Wall Street Journal website, DUH! On Tuesday it will be Disney's turn to spill the beans about their First Quarter 2008 Financials. Disney is expected to announce earnings of 52 cents a share on $10 billion in revenue, not too bad Bobby! Can we get some acquisition news soon though? Saving the best for last, Jeff Bewkes will make his debut on Time Warner's earnings call as CEO on Wednesday. We have no doubts analysts are itching for this one. Some of the questions Bewkes and his team are expected to face will include, what are his plans for the oversized company, AOL, Time Inc etc... Oh yeah they are expected to report earnings of 29 cents a share on revenue of $12.6 billion. But we all know analysts will be more concerned about Bewkes's plans for the structure of the company. Media conglomerates seen posting higher profits [MarketWatch]

SkyONE to build mega arena to accommodate its new version of Gladiators being produced by Rupe's daughter Elisabeth

-SDH Talk about big budgets. UK television giant SkyOne which is controlled by media king Rupert Murdoch is about to drop major cash to build what they say will be one of the biggest television studios in the UK to house their new version of Gladiators. Sky adds to the current rise in the resurrection trend, where television networks dig into their archives to revive hit television shows. The new version will be produced by Shine, a production company owned by Rupert Murdoch's daughter Elisabeth Murdoch. Sky said Gladiators' games would be "reinvented for the 21st century with bigger thrills and maximum impact using special effects, water skills and the latest technology".The new lineup of 12 gladiators to replace those such as Wolf and Hunter from the original show will be unveiled in March, with a nationwide search currently underway to recruit them. Sky to create giant arena for Gladiators [MG]

Media exec that almost drowned Rupert Murdoch's dog and talked a man into stripping during a News Corp meeting, rolls out his second act

-SDH Either Rupert Murdoch has no sense of humor, or Stephen Chao -AKA- Mad Chao was just a waaay out there News Corp exec who knew no boundaries. Stephan Chao with his antics back in 1992 which got him fired would be a breath of fresh air to many companies today. He would probably add some color and character to young media companies. But almost drowning Rupert Murdoch's dog, that's just a little over the line for us. Anyway Chao after a long hiatus is back with a new website which he hopes to build into an educational alternative to YouTube. Now Chao can do all the showboating he wants, especially if the site is a hit. Wouldn't it be funny if Rupert Murdoch ends up investing in Wonderhowto.com? The site, WonderHowTo.com, aggregates how-to videos, from the mundane (like “how to tie a tie” and “how to market your lawn care business in the winter”) to the strange (“how to do Criss Angel’s vanishing toothpick trick”) and the off-color (“how to train your cat to use the toilet” and beyond). TV Showman, Once Exiled, Returns With Video Site [NYT]

Rupert Murdoch wants the Wall Street Journal a little closer to him

-SDH The Observer is reporting that Rupert Murdoch may be moving some Wall Street Journal staff out of the financial district and sticking them in midtown in the News Corp building. Of course the people moving to the News Corp building would be on the editorial side so that Rupe can keep a close eye and/or hand on things. If such a move does take place, isn't Rupert just adding fuel to allegations that he moonlights as the Editor in Chief of is newspapers? One senior newsroom source with knowledge of the situation said that the move was "very likely" and it's something that Mr. Murdoch has been "strongly considering" for some time. Another source confirmed it should happen by the end of the year. More....

The Sun's Wapping days in pictures

The Sun printed it's last issue on January 25th at Rupert Murdoch's printing plant,Wapping in east London. The plant, which aimed to take advantage of new printing technology, soon became known as 'Fortress Wapping' because of its forbidding appearance and tight security . Media Guardian takes us back to the early years via pictures

And now this morning's worthy media business news...

We totally forgot that Vivendi even existed. After dropping the Universal from the corporate name we pretty much forgot about them. Anyway they are trying to invade Bertelsmann's turf by trying to land a stake in Germany's largest pay-tv broadcaster Premiere. [Reuters] The bids are in for U.S. government owned airwaves. So far the FCC has received $2.78 billion in bids. Companies that are expected to be in on the bids include AT&T and Google. [Reuters] Don Imus in hot water again [AP] We knew Rupert Murdoch couldn't say no to money. Why kill something that has been generating revenue for years. Or is this Rupe's way of showing he won't have a hand in the WSJ [NYT] Interview Magazine, Interviewed and hired [NYT]

Rupert Murdoch wears many hats at News Corp, he is CEO and according to Andrew Neil, Editor in Chief of the Sun?

"If you want to know what Rupert Murdoch really thinks read the editorials in the Sun and the New York Post because he is editor-in-chief of these papers" -SDH Was Sun Editor Rebekah Wade talking all over her mouth when she said Rupert Murdoch doesn't interfere with the editorial direction of the paper? Or is former Sunday Times editor Andrew Neil talking all over his mouth by saying that Murdoch Interfered so much that he is basically the Editor of the Sun? Either way who would be shocked? Andrew Neil is probably trying to get some media face time even though his claims may not hold water due to the fact that he hasn't worked for the paper for over a decade? Why is the Lords committee even hearing what Andrew Neil has to say. The guy can't remember anything, and besides he isn’t telling us anything we don’t already know. Rupert Murdoch’s biggest fuck up as Editor in Chief of the New York Post was this.

In his father's shoes

BY SDH Lachlan Murdoch is taking a page out of his daddy Rupert's book and is building his media empire, one newspaper paper at a time. According to published reports the former New York Post Publisher and deputy Chief Operating Officer of News Corp has teamed up with Australia's richest man James Packer to acquire publishing company Consolidated Media Holdings for a cool $2 billion. Is Lachlan finally pulling the curtains up on his grand comeback plan? Word is an official announcement will be made later on today.

Turkey plans to spread em for big foreign media companies

-BY SDH Turkey planning to bend over and allow foreign media companies to own bigger chunks of Turkish broadcasters. A draft law written and submitted to the Prime Minister's office would open the gates for people like Rupert Murdoch to up his stake in media properties in the country. Murdoch is already said to be one of many media bigs kicking the tires on ATV-Sabah. If and when this law does pass, will other major U.S. media companies show interest in entering and/or expanding in the Turkish media market? A young population, coupled with annual economic growth seen around 5 percent makes the Turkish media market attractive to investors. A population of more than 70 million speaking the same language is also a plus for advertisers, analysts say. Turkey plans to lift foreign media ownership limit [Reuters

News Corp Aggregated: Hillary Clinton's unflattering campaign's unflattering coverage | Monster.com, not Linked-In on Rupert Murdoch's mind?

-SDH It looks like all that speculation about News Corp being in talks with the folks at business social networking site Linked-In is just that, speculation at least for now. Well there is new speculation again, but this time it involves job search engine Monster.com. According to seekingalpha.com, Murdoch sent a letter to the Monster.com board offering them $4.8 billion for the company. Sounds familiar right? Yeah, he took similar route when he went after DowJones. But is this rumor, just a rumor or is this really happening? seekingalpha.com fails to spark any sense of "WOW! this may happen" They only mention that Sal Iannuzzi was hired as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Monster.com back in April 2007 to reportedly set the company up to be sold, apparently because he's a wiz at selling companies or something. He sold a company called Symbol Tech Whooohooo! Like every other rumor, this is a wait and see. After all, News Corp is still chewing on their recent $5 Billion take over of Dow Jones. [seekingalpha.com] Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton should join the line of people who holds a grudge against Rupert Murdoch. Apparently Hill is kinda ticked off at the coverage The New York Post gave her during the New Hampshire debates. Is that what she was really worried about? [Newsbusters]

Rupert Murdoch re-invests in company he lost $1 billlion on earlier

The man just continues to expand his reach it seems like every month or something like that. Media King Rupert Murdoch has swallowed a 14.6% stake in German pay-TV operator Premiere for for a reported $214 million just five years after losing $1 billion in an earlier investment in the same broadcaster. It looks like Rupe did a pull out and step back after losing that $1 billion and now that things are looking a little more firm, he is back with a fresh investment. Back when he lost the $1 Billion, King Rupe described it as a black eye. But today he is singing a new tune. -SDH "Pay-TV is a core business for News Corporation and it's a category that's thriving across Europe with a multitude of new services and innovations," Rupert Murdoch said. We see enormous potential for growth in Germany and believe the time is right to invest in its foremost pay-TV business, Premiere." News Corp buys stake in German pay-TV firm [Guardian]

ABC on CNN: Politics brings CNN and ABC News together

Either CNN Prexy Jon Klein had nothing for the 7-8pm time slot tonight, or he loved the New Hampshire debates that ABC News broadcasted so much he had to air it on his network. Dian Sawyer was even on CNN which was kinda weird. In an interview CNN's Jon Klein said that he believes the lines between media giants are slowly being erased and CNN airing ABC's content is just another step forward in the no barriers direction. Now we can start speculating about some kind of deal in the works and this is just a public test run, but we won't. Jon Klein spoke about how the whole thing came about saying, he called his good buddy David Westin, who is President of ABC News who was getting on a plane to head to New Hampshire and asked if he could re-air the New Hampshire debates and it was a go. Is this really where big media is headed? Will we see Jeff Bewkes calling Sumner Redstone asking if he can air Nickelodeon content on the Cartoon Network? Or Rupert Murdoch calling Jeff Zucker at NBC asking if he could air Mad Money on Fox Business Network? Ok so that’s a stretch. But is no barrier, media industry workable where media companies trade content? Sure media companies buy syndication licenses to air shows of other networks that are no longer on the air but that’s the norm. What was the agreement on the back end of CNN airing ABC's New Hampshire debates? Is ABC News getting a cut from Ad revenue or was it just an agreement between two friends, CNN's John Klein and ABC News's David Westin. -SDH

Rupert Murodoch's Fox Business network fell flat in its first months, but that’s normal for a new cable network or something like that

-SDH Would the suits at News Corp say that Fox Business News met their expectations or fell short of them? Rupert Murdoch's invasion of CNBC's turf may not have had the shock and awe we think some at News Corp thought it would. Fox Business News prime time averaged 15,000 viewers in the nine weeks through the week of December 16. Rupert Murdoch says he expects the network to reach 40 million U.S. homes in this year. But we doubt Rupe is worried about it. "The launch of any new cable network in this environment -- the numbers are going to be very small starting out, regardless of whether it's coming from a big media conglomerate or not," said Brad Adgate, senior vice president of research at Horizon Media, who tracks media trends. Fox Business draws few viewers in first months [Reuters]

Hot Asian guy says Rupert Murdoch will need a boat load of traffic to offset lost revenue for dropping the paid wall at WSJ.com

-ZOE S. Bear Stearns media analyst Spencer "Big" Wang is crunching numbers again this time to find out how much traffic Rupert Murdoch will need when he knocks down the paid wall at WSJ.com. According to Wang traffic will have to increase 12 fold to help offset the lost revenue. But Spencer may have too much time on his hand. Sure the revenue (a reported $78m) is a sweet chunk of cash, but Spencer may be more worried about that than Rupert Murdoch himself. Losing $78m may not even put a dent in News Corps bottom line, according to PaidContent. What Wang is forgetting is that Rupert Murdoch is known for swallowing losses in the beginning. Murdoch is planning to fluff up up advertising on WSJ.com and even said he knows it will take a little time, but it will get there.

News Corp begins to offset cost of Dow Jones

-RAY After recently dropping over $5 Billion on Dow Jones, News Corp has already begun the offsetting process. The company announced that it sold off 8 television stations for $1.1 Billion. This comes as reports are popping up about a possible sale of Harper Collins to the book loving Germans at Bertelsmann AG News Corp said in a statement Saturday the deal was expected to close in the third calendar quarter of next year. The sale of the Fox affiliate stations in small markets will leave News Corp with 27 stations in major markets including New York, Boston and Los Angeles. News Corp to Sell 8 TV Stations for $1.1 Billion [CNBC]

FCC's cap off could be another win for media king Rupert Murdoch

-RAY FCC Chairboy Kevin Martin sets limits for cable and news firms in an attempt to save the newspaper industry and of course not everyone is happy. However one person that is probably smiling this morning is non other than News Corp, now Dow Jones ruler Rupert Murdoch, who because of this ruling can win permanent waivers to control two television stations in New York, as well as The New York Post and The Wall Street Journal. In one 3-to-2 vote on Tuesday, Mr. Martin sided with the agency’s two other Republicans to relax the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rules in the nation’s 20 largest markets. Under the new rule, a company can own both a newspaper and either a television or radio station in those markets as long as there remain at least eight other independent sources of news. If it is a television station, the rule requires that it cannot be one of the top four. F.C.C. Reshapes Rules Limiting Media Industry [NYT]

Alexis Glick to add host of “Opening Bell" to her many other duties at Fox Business News

-YOSH Maybe Rupert Murdoch needs to hire some more people for his Fox Business Network because it looks like the staff is stretched thin over there. Alexis Glick who already performs many duties as FBN’s vp of business news will host the one hour program starting Monday Dec. 17 from 9-10 am. FBN correspondents slated to make regular appearances on the new program include Robert Gray, Liz MacDonald, Connell McShane, Charles Payne, Nicole Petallides, Adam Shapiro and overseas markets editor Ashley Webster, who is based in London. Fox Business Net to Launch Opening Bell [Mediaweek]

Christopher Bancroft: I'm sorry we won't be as involved with Dow Jones now, were they ever? Rich Zannino knows his high end fashion

-YOSH It looks like reality has set in for some members of the Bancroft family who ruled Dow Jones for decades up until yesterday. Now that they no longer have control of the company, Bancroft family member Chris Bancroft is all sad, even with a fatter bank account. “I’m sad we’re no longer going to be involved as we had been, but I look forward to Rupert doing a great job in keeping Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal the quality organizations they have been,” said Christopher Bancroft, a Dow Jones board member. “I hope it doesn’t change in a way that would cause it to lose the credibility it has had. I’m optimistic.” As far as former Dow Jones CEO Rich Zannino goes... he's already getting some good advice from Dow Jones board member Evelyn Y. Davis who suggested to Mr. Zannino that he return to the apparel industry. She even challenged him to tell her which designer she was wearing and to no surprise, Zannino got it right. She was wearing Valentino. Hey, did Gap ever find a new CEO? Zannino should apply. News Corp. Completes Takeover of Dow Jones [NYT]