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Mort Zuckerman Exploring Possible Sale Of Daily News

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The New York Daily News may be up for sale.

Mort Zuckerman, the owner and publisher of the tabloid newspaper, sent a memo to employees Thursday that said he was approached about a potential sale a few weeks ago. The memo was sent to The Associated Press.

Zuckerman says "there were no immediate plans to consider a sale," but "we thought it would be prudent to explore the possibility and talk to potential buyers and/or investors."

He has hired the financial advisory firm Lazard to help with the process.

Zuckerman says the newspaper is in a strong position, especially online.

Mort Zuckerman Exploring Possible Sale Of Daily News

"Somebody wanting to buy it is most likely not going to be an economic decision. I think Mr. Zuckerman is in that category of somebody who wanted to have a paper, sort of platform that it provides. So my guess would be that the next buyer may be in that same kind of group, that is a wealthy individual who'd like to own a paper," Poynter Institute Media Business Analyst Rick Edmonds tells WCBS 880's Rich Lamb.

Edmonds said someone, such as Mayor Bloomberg, who is media savvy could improve the paper's fortune, adding if you have a lot of money, it's a lot more fun than buying a bond.

Zuckerman did not say who the potential buyer is and his spokesman Tom Goodman had no comment beyond the memo.

The Daily News was founded in 1919. Zuckerman bought it in 1993.

According to the Alliance for Audited Media, the newspaper had an average daily print and digital circulation of 516,165 in March 2013, making it the fifth most circulated paper in the U.S.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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