U.S. LETS 3 PAPERS MERGE OPERATIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP74-00115R000300070001-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 6, 2014
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: September 4, 1965
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

NEW YORK TIMES STAT
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2914/02/10: CIA-RDP74-00115R000300070001-5
SEP 4 1965
U.S. LETS 3 PAPERS
MERGE OPERATIONS
San Francisco Dailies Will
Not Face Antitrust Action
By FRED P. GRAHAM
Special to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 ?
,The antitrust division of the
,Justice Department has decided
not to oppose a prpposed cost-
sharing combination among the
,three major San Franciato daily
,newspapers.
Sources in the department
,confirmed today that Donald F.
Turner, Assistant Attorney Gen-
eral in charge of the division,
had approved a letter inform-
ing the papers that the Govern-
ment would not bring suit if
? they proceeded with their com-
? bination plans.
The newspapers are two
Hearst dailies, The Morning
,Examiner and The Evening
? News-Call Bulletin, and The
Morning Chronicle, an indepen-
dent.
Would Share Publishing
The three newspapers had
asked the department to state
whether . it would oppose an
, agreement for joint publishing,
printing and other cost-sharing
operations.
, Financially troubled news-
papers are increasingly turning
' to this type of combination,
? which allows them to maintain
indePendent editorial policies
while sharing production costs.
, The Justice Department has
, opposed some outright newspa-
per mergers in recent months.
However, the proposed San
papers' agreement to notify it
formation, conditioned upon the
Francisco arrangement would
be unusual because The Chron-
at least 10 days before any,
? icle and The Examiner are corn- 4gree.ment, was 'signed.
Givernmen
that the cost-sharing contained
elements of price-fixing, anar-'
ket division hand profit-pool-:
lag, and that it was therefore,
in restraint of trade.
A decision on the Govern-
ment's motion for summary
judgment without trial is ex-
, pected momentarily by Federal
District Judge James A. Walsh.
One source reported that the
department Would not officially,
inform the San Francisco news-
papers of its approval of their
proposal uneil Judge Walsh had
ruled, because the San Fran-
cisco arrangement woud contain
some of the elements attacked
by the Government in the Tuc-
son suit.
No Merger Seen
The Government is taking the
position that the San Francisco
proposal woUld not involve a
merger. Also, 'the Tucson case
is considered a test cage; no
Federal court has yet ruled on
whether a newspaper cost-shar-:
ing combination is an antitrust
violation. '
A Justice Department source
said today that ? the effect of
the decision not to oppose the
San Francisco combination now
would not 'preclude the depart-
ment from suing to break it at
a later time.
Last June ?the antitrust divi-
sion investigated reports that
six New York dallies were con-
ducting discussions aimed at
cost-saving operations.
To obta,in information, de-
partment served letters similar
to subpoenas on The New York
Times, the New York Herald
Tribune, The New York Jour-
nal-American, the New York
World-Telegram and The Sun,
The Daily News and The NeW
York Post. -
The department later offered
to set aside the requests for in-
peting morning papers.
The Hearst management was
reportedly able to get the anti-
-trust division's approval by
arguing tAt both its papers
, were operating at a deficit, and
,:. that the combination wi: tild not
; be in restraint of trade. '
Four newspaper antitrust ac-
tions have been filed ;by the
Justice Department since May,
, 1964, but only one involved a
; 'cost-sharing arrangement.
Tucson Case Cited
! The department brought suit.,
'In January to enjoin the Im-
pending purchase of The Ari-
zona Daily Star by The Tucson
' Daily Citizen. The two papers
had been operating under a
: joint-facilities, cost-sharing ar-
i ?rangement since 1940. The Gov-
; ernment also asked that this
i arrangement be cancelled by the
! court as a violation of section 1.
;. of the_. Sherman Antitrust 4#..,
_Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2014/02/10: CIA-RDP74-00115R000300070001-5
b11-1.1'
.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2014/02/10: CIA-RDP74-00115R000300070001-5
JUN 19 1965
Pyle Award Winner Reports
SAN FRANCISCO
Daily reports on Vietnam are
appearing in the San Francisco
News Call Bulletin under the
byline of Guy Wright, local col-
umnist wha has been war corre-
spondent since May.
The writer wants to give NCB
readers an explanation of the
entire situation there, explained
Thomas Eastham, editor. Sig-
nificantly the man who turned
to war from local battles for
many causes is a winner of the.
Ernie Pyle Award. Yet he be-
lieves understanding is more
important than the Pyle-type
personal stories of the GI in
World War II.
Guy Wright has penetrated
the highlands where war "re-
sembles the Indian fighting that
took 'place on our Western
plains" and the beaches "where
Marines who had stormed ashore
ready for a fight found them-
selves cavorting with native
girls."
The NCB staffer has confessed
relief in leaving the land of the
killer Kohos?" "I'm glad there
are braver men than I who are
willing to stay in places like
Kannack"?and interviewed en-
listed men as well as General
William C. Westmoreland?"I
didn't come to Vietnam to hob-
nob? with generals. Our paths
just happened to cross."
He has found some answers in
talks with natives and in investi-
gating how the pro-Communist
atmosphere of a virrage was re-
versed. His ? interview subjects
include a young Vietnamese
?
rorn Vietnam
Guy Wright
woman who flew a psychological
warfare mission.
"Even when the twinkles of
gunfire became clusters, her
voice did not falter," he said of
the flight. Later, when he asked
why she went," the interpreter
shook his head after a lengthy
interchange and explained; 'I
ask her one thing but she an-
swers something else. She is a
woman.'"
"She has the wisdom of all
womankind warning men
against the folly of dying for
lost causes," wrote the onetime
Evansville (Ind.) Press re-
porter.
Mr. Wright was brought West
to become television editor for '
the old San Francisco News and
remained when the Scripps-
Howard afternoon daily was
merged with the Call-Bulletin.
?
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2014/02/10: CIA-RDP74-00115R000300070001:5