New York Post Updated: Tue., Apr. 3, 2012, 12:56 AM Mort-al enemies Cablevision accuses NY Daily News publisher Mort Zuckerman of "intimidation and extortion" Dolan takes ‘toxic’ feud with Zuckerman public
By KEITH J. KELLY NY POST 12:56 AM, April 3, 2012 http://www.nypost.com/f/print/news/business/mort_al_enemies_gIQCTQ1uJftraEqJ0rESNO Cablevision Chief Executive Jim Dolan opened a new front in the tabloid wars yesterday when he publicly ripped Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman, accusing him of waging a “campaign of intimidation and extortion” after Dolan rebuffed his repeated overtures to merge their two tabloids. The feud erupted after the News ran a story on the back page under the headline “Ticket to Hide,” claiming that the New York Knicks, a franchise controlled by the Dolan family, deliberately hid news about the seriousness of point guard Jeremy Lin’s knee injury until after season-ticket holders had purchased playoff tickets last week. Dolan issued a joint statement through Cablevision and Madison Square Garden, blasting the paper’s coverage and accusing Zuckerman of a conspiracy to force him to combine Cablevision-owned Newsday with the News. “Mr. Zuckerman has engaged in a campaign of intimidation and extortion to effect a merger between Newsday and the Daily News,” according to the statement. “He has made repeated overtures to Mr. Dolan and his executives to combine the operations with joint ownership and shared printing and editorial expense. This proposal was rejected multiple times.” Zuckerman went so far as to tell Dolan during a March 6 encounter at the Four Seasons Restaurant in Manhattan that “‘the bad press would end if we became joint owners’ (a direct quote),” according to Dolan’s statement. Shortly after that encounter, Cablevision said, the News ran a front-page story with Dolan’s picture as a centerpiece for a skull-and-crossbones graphic with the word “Toxic.” “Today’s back page story is just another in a series of these defamatory extortions,” Cablevision said. The Dolan family controls both publicly traded Cablevision, the owner of Newsday, and MSG, home to the Knicks and the Rangers. In a statement, News Editor-in-Chief Colin Myler denied any smear campaign and said the paper would continue to report in a “fair and independent editorial manner.” “Like all media organizations in New York, the Daily News has marveled at the phenomenon that’s become known as Linsanity. Unfortunately, the Jeremy Lin column in today’s Daily News has been totally misrepresented by Mr. Dolan. ” Cablevision and MSG said that Lin “decided on Saturday to have surgery now in hopes that he would be able to return in time for, or at least during, the playoffs,” adding that it was standard practice to offer the season-ticket holders a shot at playoff tickets before the sale to the general public. “The suggestion that the timing of Jeremy Lin’s injury report is in any way connected to a longstanding Knicks playoff ticket deadline is a malicious attack on Madison Square Garden,” the companies said. “I understand that there will always be those who are critical of anyone who owns a controlling interest in three New York sports franchises,” Dolan said in the statement. “But Mr. Zuckerman’s attempts to parlay this into a favorable arrangement for himself could not be more misguided.” Dolan, who has been unhappy with media coverage of him and his ventures, wrote a song critical of the tabloid in 2010, “Daily News Blues,” performed by his band, JD and the Straight Shots. MSG and Cablevision said that the “companies are actively pursuing their remedial options.” _______________________________________________ Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
