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Riding the 'four food groups of the apocalypse'

We don't expect to find investment advice from opinion columns, but New York Times columnist Frank Rich unleashed a quartet to those willing to read between the lines in his recent piece "Herbert Hoover Lives."

Here's the money quote (no pun intended) from the theater critic turned political pundit: "What are Americans still buying? Big Macs, Campbell's soup, Hershey's chocolate and Spam -- the four food groups of the apocalypse."

Continue reading Riding the 'four food groups of the apocalypse'

New York Times, CNBC partner to thwart Fox Business Network

The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) and General Electric (NYSE: GE)'s CNBC have agreed to share each other's content, a move designed to counter the synergies that the $5 billion acquisition of Dow Jones brought to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (NYSE: NWS) empire.

Under the terms of the agreement, Times articles will be posted on CNBC's website while the cable channel's video will be on the newspaper's website, according to a story in the New York Times. Though content-sharing agreements are as common as mud, this one is worth watching because it's so high profile.

It wouldn't surprise me if the Times and CNBC eventually did joint projects, particularly time-consuming investigative stories. Also, expect the Times op-ed columnists such as Frank Rich and Paul Krugman to make more appearances on CNBC shows, no doubt much to the horror of Larry Kudlow.

Though Fox Business Network could get better ratings shouting the news over bullhorn in the middle of Manhattan, CNBC can't afford to take the fledging network for granted. After all, Murdoch now has at his disposal some of the best business journalists in the world who could whip his CNBC competitor into shape,.

NOTE: I've done freelance writing for The New York Times.

Rupert Murdoch mulled offer for the New York Times

Mysterious is the mind of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. Now comes word that the News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) CEO considered making a bid for The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT). Exactly how long the mogul entertained such a notion isn't clear. Of course, he eventually went after Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones & Co. (NYSE: DJ).

Can you imagine a New York Times owned by Murdoch? Frank Rich, Thomas Friedman, Paul Krugman, and Maureen Dowd probably couldn't either. I am sure the four of them would have screamed bloody murder at the thought of working for Murdoch. New York Times Chairman Arthur Sulzberger, whose family has a iron-clad grip on the publisher, would never sell. But Murdoch, who sees The Times as a symbol of all that's bad and liberal about the media, knows all of these and many other reasons why he will never own the Grey Lady. So, why would he waste his time with such a ludicrous idea? I have no idea but DealBook, The Times' business blog, has a novel theory.

"it's possible that the crafty media baron is playing games with the paper he wishes to destroy." the site says.

You think?

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Last updated: November 14, 2009: 03:05 PM

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