Bloomberg Won't Buy NY Times

If the New York Times is wooing potential buyers as many have speculated, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg seems to be an ideal suitor. He heads a media empire, has a $12 billion fortune and the acumen to go mano-a-mano with Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal—and he'll have time on his hands when he leaves office next year. Only problem: he's not interested.

Bloomberg scoffed at the idea of taking charge of the New York Times, whose management is under fire from restive shareholders. "I am not going to go into the newspaper business," Bloomberg said at a press conference yesterday. "I am not a newspaper person. I don't know why anybody keeps pushing this."