Hearst Negotiating for News America Syndicate

Hearst Corp. is negotiating to purchase Irvine-based News America Syndicate and completion of a purchase could come as early as next week, The Times has learned.

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch put the syndicate up for sale in September with a price tag of about $24 million, according to a company official. It’s not clear just how much the operation will eventually fetch, but sources close to the negotiations said that an offer of $17.5 million from another syndicate has already been rejected.

Hearst Corp., which publishes the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner and several other metropolitan newspapers, in addition to its interests in magazines and broadcasting, has been expanding its syndication operations, acquiring the Cowles syndicate earlier this year after the parent company sold the Des Moines Register and Tribune to Gannett.

A combination of Hearst’s King Features Syndicate and News America would solidify King’s position as the world’s largest syndicator of comics, editorial cartoons, advice columns and opinion page essays.

King Features already distributes about 130 features to some 3,000 newspapers worldwide. News America distributes about 85 features to about the same number of newspapers.

Hearst declined comment on the pending acquisition and officials at News Corp., parent of News America Syndicate, did not return telephone calls.

Meshing of Talent

King apparently is concerned with how to mesh some of News America’s talent with its own, according to syndicate officials familiar with the negotiations. For example, King syndicates the work of five editorial page cartoonists. News America syndicates Herbert Block and Bill Mauldin cartoons in addition to seven other cartoonists. King has a money column written by Peter Weaver; News America has a money column written by Susan Bondy.

Because the top five newspaper feature syndicates are either privately owned or part of larger companies, an exact ranking of their size is difficult. Rankings are further clouded by some of the syndicates’ expanding interests in licensing and related activities.

But many industry officials said that there would be no question about King’s dominance following a merger with News America. These officials said that after a combined King/News America, they would consider New York-based United Media second in size with Kansas City-based Universal Press Syndicate; Orlando, Fla.-based Tribune Media Services and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate following.

Each of those companies distribute the work of scores of artists and writers. They labor to keep their roster of talent happy, introduce new material and work constantly to persuade newspapers to include more of their artists and writers, while bumping other company’s talent.

With its stable of established comics such as Beetle Bailey and Blondie, competitors characterize King as a conservative company, perhaps less willing to take chances on new talent.

In the syndication business, such risks are expensive. It typically takes about four years before a syndicate begins to realize a return on its initial promotional investment for a writer or artist and thus the companies carefully scrutinize new material before committing it to syndication.

Can Earn Millions

But the licensing of successful characters like Peanuts and Garfield can earn millions of dollars for the syndicate.

Murdoch acquired News America Syndicate in 1984 as part of his approximately $100-million purchase of the Chicago Sun-Times. The unit, which was then called Field Newspaper Syndicate, was renamed after the acquisition was completed.

Sale of the syndicate apparently would fit in with Murdoch’s strategy of selling some of his American newspaper holdings as he expands his interests in movies and television.

But the prospect of a combined King-News America syndicate apparently is not causing other syndicates to tremble in fear of an emerging Goliath.

“It’s not how many apples you have in your basket, it’s how many are bright and shiny,” said Mike Argirion, vice president and editor of Tribune Media Services, which syndicates Howard Cosell, Mike Royko and cartoonist Doug Marlette.

“We hope to stay lighter and quicker,” said Brad Bushnell, vice president and sales manager of United Media. Like other competing syndicates, United reckons it might be able to attract some of News America’s talent when contracts come up for renewal.

For example, Dan Dorfman, whose syndicated financial column was distributed to 177 newspapers by News America, came up for contract renewal just about the time a “For Sale” sign was tacked onto the company door. Faced with an uncertain future with News America, Dorfman said he “explored the outside world” and signed with Gannett Co., publishers of USA Today.