@ News Corp. Shareholder Meeting: Questions About Bailouts, Deal With Redstone? Murdoch: No, And No
This story was written by David Kaplan.
[In progress] Rupert Murdoch began the News Corp (NYSE: NWS). shareholder going through details of the terms of the company's board of director elections. The meeting is in progress now at the Hudson Theater just off of Times Square.
-- News Corp. bailout?The first question came from Evelyn Y. Davis, an elderly woman with a German accent and claims to own shares in 80 other companies, who complained about the $700 billion bailout, but asked why News Corp. wasn't asking for one. "What about the media? If the bailout is good enough for the banks, why not the news company?" Murdoch: "I don't think you can expect any media company, least of all us, to take a handout from the government." After 10 minutes, Murdoch gently cut her off, saying, "Thank you for your interesting opinions. Now, can we please stick to the relevant issues at hand?"
-- No talks with Sumner: Davis returned to the microphone to ask if News Corp. was interested in buying any of the assets under Sumner Redstone's National Amusements. Murdoch: "They only have a few that are non-competitive, and we would consider taking a look if anything was for sale, but we are not aware of any and we are not engaged in any talks." More to come
By David Kaplan