Spin Cycle

In an earlier item about Tribune buyer Sam Zell's New Yorker comment that Chuck Schumer was "hustling" for someone who wanted to buy Newsday, we promised an update on who he was representing, and why.

First: Jim Klurfeld, Newsday's longtime editorial chief who recently left the paper, tells us that Schumer had expressed concerns about Newsday's future to him, and Klurfeld referred Schumer to Frank Zarb, the former NASDAQ and Long Island Power Authority chairman rumored to have been looking at an effort to buy Newsday from Tribune earlier this year.

“Frank and Chuck Schumer talked at some point. That’s pretty much my recollection," Klurfeld says. “Chuck was concerned about the future of Newsday and having a strong journalistic product on Long Island and that was the nature of his concern.” Klurfeld didn't know about any contacts Schumer may have later had with Zell.

Second: Schumer says he called Zell to figure out what his plans were for Newsday because of concerns about the paper's future, and wanted Zell or someone else to be willing to invest in it. “It wasn't hustling. It was making an inquiry about the future of something very important to Long Island. A newspaper is more than a private business....I don't care who owns it as long as it is a strong quality newspaper.”

The contact(s) apparently occurred some time ago -- back in the spring or summer. In June, according to news clips, Zell lobbied Schumer to sign a letter asking the FCC for a quick ruling on a request from Tribune to retain an exemption from cross-ownership rules so the company can continue to own both newspapers and TV stations in NY, LA and Chicago.

Schumer signed the letter, along with Sens. Dick Durbin and Harry Reid. The waiver still hasn't been granted. If it isn't approved pretty soon, Zell's purchase could be derailed and the pieces could end up for sale after all. “The financing would unravel, Tribune would be auctioned off in parts, and it would be the end of the company,” a Trib vp says in this article.