'N.Y. Sun' May Rise Once More

By: Lucia Moses Can a new daily newspaper make it in beaten-down New York where established ones struggle even in flush times -- and with just $15 million in its pocket?

A group of investors and journalists will attempt to prove that it can as they prepare to launch a five-day morning paper in the first quarter of next year. The paper has no printer, office space, advertising commitments, or name -- but will likely take the name of the legendary but defunct New York Sun.

Backing the daily are the Canadian-turned-British press baron Conrad Black, who will be one of the managing members, and a clutch of close-knit New York financial wizards, including Roger Hertog, vice chairman of Alliance Capital Management; Michael Steinhardt, a former hedge-fund manager; Andrew Cader of Speer, Leeds & Kellogg; and investor Thomas Tisch.

"The common denominator of this group is not political," founding Editor Seth Lipsky said. "[T]hese are serious people who care a great deal about New York."

Observers doubt that the $15-million investment, of which Black is chipping in 12.5%, will go far in New York, where an economic recovery isn't expected until the second half of next year. "Talk about a suicide mission," said Edward J. Atorino, a media watcher for Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in New York. "Where are they going to get advertising from?"

The planned broadsheet "won't have any trouble attracting the upper end of advertising" because it will target New York elites, said Daniel Colson, deputy chairman of Black's Hollinger International Inc. Startup costs will be low because the paper will farm out as many operations as possible and limit initial distribution to Manhattan. The writing under Lipsky, a contributing editor for The Wall Street Journal, will be high quality, Colson said, and the editorial page will be "neoconservative" to counter the "often-predictable" New York Times.

The founders of the planned paper have no illusions that making the sheet a financial success will be easy, though. "We're going to have to work to make this paper valuable to advertisers," said Lipsky, who is the president of the paper's parent publishing company, called One SL LLC.

The new paper would give Black a toehold in the New York newspaper world, where he's long sought a place. Black, whose empire stretches from London to Chicago to Jerusalem, has tried over the years to buy the weekly New York Observer and the Daily News. He has been quiet on the acquisition stage since selling most of his U.S. and Canadian newspapers last year.

Lipsky has had similar goals. While editor of the Jewish weekly Forward, he wanted to take the paper daily, former colleagues said. "Seth has always wanted to start a daily newspaper with sort of a hard-headed, humane outlook on the world, driven by scoops," said Jeff Goldberg, a former Forward contributor who now writes for The New Yorker.

Those seeking clues about the future paper's editorial style can visit Smartertimes.com, The New York Times' criticism Web site by Ira Stoll, another Forward alum who will be Lipsky's vice president and managing editor. Classified advertisements placed by the planned paper currently advertise editorial openings in New York, Albany, N.Y., and Washington -- in feature and cultural reporting as well as hard news.

The founders aspire to produce a newspaper that will be worthy of the old Sun's name. The Sun, which became famous for its "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" editorial in 1897, was one of the first successful daily papers, lasting from 1833 to 1950. Lipsky, known as a neoconservative, said he admired its longtime editor, Charles A. Dana, who espoused "equality under the law, integrity in government, and quality journalism."

Mickey Marks, president and CEO of New York-based media buyer Creative Media, said a new daily could sustain itself in New York -- assuming it builds a consistent readership with definable demographics. But, he added, "there's a lot of ifs."