• Press Gazette, Wednesday, November 19, 2008 11:30 AM

The worsening economic climate will have a "very, very ugly" effect on the media business, said Marty Pompadur, the departing chairman of News Corp.'s European business, and it could force some companies to sell. He added that the worldwide recession would be "pretty deep and pretty long."

Speaking at the European Media Leaders Summit in London, Pompadur said, "As I look at what's going on globally, in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, it's very, very ugly." Pompadur resigned from the News Corp. board last week after more than 10 years as one of Rupert Murdoch's closest advisors. "It's not good out there. They're talking about a recession - I hope they're not talking about something worse than that."

He added that a number of media companies would likely change hands. "If a company has a lot of debt they're in trouble," he said. "Companies that are diversified with several different profit centers have a better opportunity. Those companies that are private or controlled by families have a better opportunity to survive in this kind of environment and prosper."

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