I was wondering if posting a not-strictly-political item about the media would be appropriate, especially for my first post at R4’12, and then Kavon posted two media-related items. Now the question is not whether it’s appropriate, but whether it’s overkill.

Oh well. First the intro. I’m not really new here, I’ve been commenting for a while as BobH. Here’s my quickie bio:

Bob Hovic is a marketing consultant with an international practice, based in the metro Chicago area. He has had three books published dealing with his area of specialization. Bob is a widower with two adult children.

Though raised in a thoroughly Republican family, Bob began his political activism as a left-wing Democrat in the Vietnam era, before becoming disenchanted with the authoritarian tendencies of the left and joining the Libertarian Party. “I might still be a Libertarian,” Bob says, “if they were simply more realistic and more focused on accomplishing things, rather than fighting lost causes.”

Bob considers himself a conservative with libertarian leanings, but above all a pragmatist, often quoting Otto von Bismarck: “Politics is the art of the possible.”

In part for business reasons, but also just because it interests me, I follow the media (and especially newspapers) fairly closely. And it’s certainly been interesting of late. Today’s most interesting news (besides the death of the Rocky Mountain News, which has been expected for a while), is that Rupert Murdoch wants to buy some more papers, including the New York Times.

It seems pretty unlikely to me — Murdoch already owns the Post and two TV stations in NYC, which means he’d need Justice Department approval to buy the Times (forgetting the other barriers). Can you imagine a Democratic DoJ  approving the sale of their favorite paper to one of their favorite villains?

Buying the LA Times from the bankrupt Tribune Co. seems a lot more likely.

Something not brought up in the linked article is that the San Francisco Chronicle is for sale, too (Hearst says they may shut it down if they can’t find a buyer). Wouldn’t it be fun if Murdoch bought a paper in SF? You wouldn’t be able to see the Golden Gate Bridge for all the exploding heads.