Updated: Murdoch Comes Out Swinging On DJ; Defends Deal; Not Giving Up On Newsday

Rupert Murdoch is intent on changing the Street's image of News Corp's (NYSE: NWS) investment in Dow Jones and he's using today's earnings call to make the case that the acquisition?small for News Corp but "potentially transformative on many levels" shouldn't be seen as an investment in newspapers. "That is not our intent nor is it factually correct. What's being lost in all this chatter is a crucial fact?it's not just a global newspaper." Murdoch thinks people may be surprised to hear that the Enterprise Media group, which includes Factiva, contributes by far the most in revenue and growth.

Murdoch, who spent most of the last year talking about doing away with paid access to WSJ.com, wound up bragging today about the site's 1 million-plus paying subs. And, he added, "We've got to keep all this in perspective. We're talking only about the first full quarter ... This is destined to be an extra-inning game, to use an overly-used metaphor; we're only in the first innings. Those of you expecting to see immediate, dramatic results in 12 weeks are kidding yourselves and setting an unrealistic bar. Over time, as we've done dozens of times at News Corp?most recently at Sky Italia and MySpace?we've made our acquisitions work, generating great returns for our shareholders. We'll do it again at Dow Jones; it may take time but I'm as confident of it as any acquisition I've done."

Newsday: Murdoch said he is "hopeful" of success when it comes to acquiringNewsdayfrom Tribune; Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) and Mort Zuckerman are also in the running. He also dismissed anti-trust issues: "There's no possibility of anti-trust withNewsday. As far as the FCC, that's something which will be handled when our licenses come up for renewal on TV and we are very confident that we will get through that, even if we have to go to court." As for Cablevision's higher bid, Murdoch told aNewsdayreporter: "I don't think Cablevision will prevail. Just be patient for a couple of days, will you? We are certainly not in the business of getting into an auction here."