MEDIA MARKET DATA - World Association of Newspapers

shares, particularly because we continue to trade at such a discount to our immediate peersand to the overall market." News Corp said it was comfortable with previous guidance thatfull-year operating profit would grow 12 per cent from $US3.56 billion last year. But someanalysts believe the guidance is conservative as News Corp flagged better than expectedprofit from the film Ice Age 2, which has already generated $US600 million at the box officesince the end of March. News Corp expects television earnings to benefit from strong ratingsof shows such as House, Prison Break and the fifth season of 24. It is also looking atlaunching a new business channel, although it will make sure it has wide distribution beforespending the money to set it up. "We believe News Corp is entering a period whenfundamental trends and increased stock buybacks are beginning to drive the stock again asopposed to non-operational issues," Goldman Sachs JBWere analysts said in a note to clientsyesterday. Mr Murdoch said he was "optimistic" that an agreement with Liberty Media's JohnMalone, who is sitting on an 18 per cent stake in News, would be reached soon. He alsoplayed down reports of his support for Hillary Clinton. Mr Murdoch is hosting a fund-raiserfor Senator Clinton, which has raised eyebrows because the two are at different ends of thepolitical spectrum. "It's no big deal," he said. "It's got nothing to do with anything other thanher Senate re-election. She's been an effective and good senator."http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/murdoch-tips-tough-times-for-his-printempire/2006/05/11/1146940675293.html;May 12, 2006Newspaper LaunchesMiddle EastFormer Observer business editor Frank Kane is heading over to Dubai to edit a new Englishlanguagedaily newspaper for the Middle East. Kane is the first big signing by Andrew Neil inhis role as non-executive chairman of ITP – a company which publishes Dubai editions ofUK-based titles including Time Out and Campaign, and a magazine called Arabian Business.The paper is to be called The Arabian Business Standard and will be available in Dubai andAbu Dhabi from the autumn. It could then roll out to other nearby countries such as Qatar,Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Kane is likely to be starting his new role in the next few weeks. Herevealed last month that he was stepping down as Observer business editor after five years inthe job to write across the newspaper. Kane worked under Neil when he was editor of theSunday Times, notably as head of the Insight investigations team. The pair also workedtogether on the Sunday Business, where Neil was publisher and Kane was news andinvestigations editor. Kane has also been City editor of The Guardian and number two on theSunday Times business desk to Jeff Randall. Neil said: "I'm delighted Frank Kane hasaccepted the post of editor of Arabian Business Standard. He brings formidable experienceand reputation as a business journalist and business editor and we look to him to create aworld-class daily business newspaper for the UAE and the wider Gulf Region." In March,when Times city editor Patience Wheatcroft was made editor of the Sunday Telegraph, Kanetold Press Gazette that few City editors go on to become editors. He said: "There aren't thatmany that have gone in that way. There was Andreas Whittam Smith, who was City editor atthe Daily Telegraph, who then went on to become editor, founder and demi-god of TheIndependent. Now we have two. It's a very healthy trend."http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/article/190506/frank_kane_itp_andrew_neil_newspaper_dubai;19 May 2006AfghanistanA third independent daily hit newsstands in the western Herat province. Nazir Ahmad Raha,editor of the newly-launched daily Siasat (Politics) hoped their publication would become the13