So, what else is not news? Business Week magazine, citing a Q&A that appears in the latest issue of Newsweek, says Rupert Murdoch is soon to launch a business channel,
essentially confirming what just about everyone in the industry has been anticipating for months. The surprise would have been an announcement by Murdoch, the head of News Corp., that he'd
decided to forgo a stab at a niche that seems ripe for the profit-taking. With the abandonment of the all-business format by CNN last year (remember CNNfn?), only CNBC is on-air to mine the lucrative
market for viewers who crave all-day news and information about investing and the world of business. While CNBC's fortunes rise and fall with the market--Wall Street's woes generally dampen ratings at
the NBC Universal unit--the cable channel has the segment all to itself. Seeing opportunity there, Murdoch says his all-business channel should be up and running by year-end. No one
dismisses his intentions. First of all, the presiding czar of News Corp's TV-news operations is Roger Ailes, the savvy producer who lifted Fox News from industry lark to industry leader. Together,
Murdoch and Ailes have the pockets, the will, and the competitive fervor required to create a successful business channel in relatively short order. What's more, Murdoch tells Newsweek
that he's making "considerable progress" in signing up cable companies for the distribution of his upcoming venture.
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