Mortimer Zuckerman
GM Building Buy Assuages Market Doubts
Harry Macklowe’s early morning Saturday sale of the GM Building and three other midtown towers to a group led by Mort Zuckerman’s Boston Properties did more than just yank New York’s most virile phallus from the market. The GM Building deal slaughtered what had become a favorite scapegoat among brokers for the dip in Manhattan building sales: that investors, bewildered by the credit crisis and unsure how to price their buildings, were waiting for Mr. Macklowe to trade and show them the way. read more »
Hey Mort, Chuck, Rupe! Welcome to Hellville, Long Island!
On Jan. 15, Sam Zell dropped by the bleak house that is the Melville, N.Y., headquarters of Newsday, Long Island’s newspaper.
It was to be a pep talk: The last decade, characterized by its nearly annual tradition of soul-wrenching job cuts, was over. “We’ve got to get off our ass,” he said to the assemblage of reporters and salesmen; it went over well, less like a scolding than a slap on the butt from Coach.
Two months later, a somber group showed up at the Newsday auditorium for cannoli, pecan pie and coffee to say goodbye to the 36 newsroom buyouts Tribune had exacted from the paper, including three national reporters, several business reporters, its features editor, its movie editor and two critics. (Some reporters were taken off other desks and transferred to the Long Island desk.) read more »
Zuckerman Snags First Tenant for New Eighth Avenue Tower
Powerful landlord and print media titan Mort Zuckerman has signed his first tenant for his new tower-to-be on Eighth Avenue and West 55th Street, closing on a lease of more than 200,000 square feet with the law firm read more »
Giant News Cave Bought By Broadway for $700 Million
In This Week's Observer...
Mort Zuckerman Is "Pissed Off" Over Rudy Docs
On Jan 24, Politico's Ben Smith published a PDF of Rudy Giuliani's 127-page campaign dossier, a secret battle plan. Smith had also reported on the brief while working at the Daily News earlier this month.
In the document, Zuckerman is listed in the "Prospective Leadership" category, alongside NewsCorp chief Rupert Murdoch and several captains of industry. And Zuckerman is also penciled in on Giuliani's October calendar. (Incidentally, Zuckerman's name does not appear in the Daily News' Jan. 2 cover story.)
"How my name got on the list, I don't know," Zuckerman said.
But did the Daily News not publish the full document on their own Web site because Zuckerman's name appears on the list of targeted donors?
"Nobody made the decision not to publish it, other than a normal editorial decision," said Zuckerman.
Daily News Editor-in-Chief Martin Dunn is away this week, and Senior Executive Editor Robert Sapio did not return calls for comment.When Politico first published the Giuliani dossier, private phone numbers were listed, too. They have since been redacted.
"I've been called a number of times," said Zuckerman. "I think the technical term is pissed off."
-Michael CalderoneThe Hillionaire
Daily News Soon to Be as Famous as Whitney and Bobby's Bathroom
Bravo's Tabloid Wars--that docu-reality-miniseries peek into Mort Zuckerman's Daily News ant farm--hits TVs July 24, the summer after it was filmed. Today brings the press kit, complete with a mock newspaper touting the series' many dramatic attractions ("Married gossip columnists George Rush and Joanna Malloy balance family life and work when their son's sudden injury leaves Rush to cover a Gotti family party solo"..."Columnist Lenore Skenazy scours the city for 'intriguing oddballs'"). read more »
The most excitement, though, comes from the back page roundup of the series' principal characters. Here's Michael Cooke, Editor-in-Chief--"Currently, Cooke is back in the windy city where he is vice president of editorial operations for the Chicago group of papers at Sun-Times parent company, Hollinger Inc." There's Hudson "Hud" Morgan, Junior Gossip Columnist To Lloyd Grove--"Morgan is currently an associate editor at Men's Vogue." Forget the real-life news-chasing story lines. Maybe Bravo shoulda just modeled the program on Survivor.
Al and Chuck, Together Again
Chuck Schumer and Al D'Amato at a 1,000-a-plate fund-raiser at Mort Zuckerman's Fifth Avenue home.
The object is to raise money for Montana Sen. Max Baucus' 2008 re-election bid.
Which is actually what makes it curious. We know D'Amato will endorse a Democrat if the Republican's a loser. But why does he have to help raise money for Democrats in Montana? Or maybe they're just old Hill friends?
D'Amato, Schumer team up for Baucus - UnderTheDome (second item) - Tom McGeveran
