Daily News Owner Makes Newsday Bid

Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman has matched Rupert Murdoch's bid for Newsday, the New York Times reports—but didn't go a penny over the $580 million the New York Post owner offered. Instead Zuckerman claimed his bid is the better one because, unlike Murdoch's, it doesn't run the risk of running into an FCC tripwire.

Murdoch already owns two TV stations and two newspapers in New York, and the FCC would be certain to take a close look at the market effect of his adding a third. “One of the things you have to consider when getting an offer is who can close on it,” an exec close to Zuckerman tells the Times. With the owners of the New York  Observer and Cablevision said to be preparing a joint bid, a three-way battle for Newsday could be ahead. (More Mortimer Zuckerman stories.)