Murdoch's empire incurs Dow loss

Rupert Murdoch's media empire, News Corp., reported a more than $6 billion loss in its second quarter.

According to an article in Variety, "The loss for the period ended Dec. 31 was due to a previously announced write down of assets worth about $8.4 billion on the purchase of Dow Jones and TV licenses, among other declining assets."

This is a substantial decrease since the conglomerate's total revenue dipped 8% to $7.8 billion. News Corp. was not the only media conglomeration to face these financial slides; both Disney and Time Warner also issued dismal reports filled with red ink.

The Variety article also mentioned Murdoch's response to the unsettling information: "Murdoch wasn't focusing on good news in his comments to Wall Street analysts during a post-earnings conference call. He proclaimed the financial crisis 'the worst since News Corp, was formed' a half century ago."

"Our results for the quarter are a direct reflection of the grim economic climate," Murdoch said. "While we anticipated a weakening, the downturn is more severe and likely longer lasting than previously thought."

There was more bad news to come as the film unit's operating income fell 72% to $112 million thus ending the studio's multi-year winning streak.

The article continued with more of Murdoch's thoughts on the decline. "Murdoch insisted that 'Australia,' while expensive and 'disappointing' at the domestic B.O., would turn a small profit thanks to strong overseas returns and ancillaries."

It seems that even Murdoch's investments in Dow Jones and the popular social networking site, MySpace, have also soured recently in the unstable economy and ad climate. He even placed blame on the auto industry stating that they are accountable for about 30% of local station ad revenues.