Mr Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation today posted lower first quarter earnings, as the Fox television unit and its newspapers fell prey to industry-wide weakness in the advertising market, exacerbated by the September 11th attacks.
The company, which also owns Twentieth Century Fox film studios and a host of cable networks, newspapers and satellite assets, reported a profit of $83 million, in the same period a year earlier, it earned $149 million.
News Corp recently withdrew its proposal to take over satellite television company Hughes Electronics deflating Mr Murdoch's dream of a global distribution platform for his vast array of media assets.
Revenues rose to $3.40 billion from $3.24 billion a year earlier.
