Fox and Reuters unveiled plans yesterday to create a TV news
service in an effort to improve news broadcasts at local Fox
stations.  The deal will provide Fox affiliates with access to
footage of national and international news.  The service is
scheduled to begin March 1 and will be based in Washington D.C
(Michele Greppi, N.Y. POST, 1/23).

     Accusations of influence-peddling on Capitol Hill are not
Rupert Murdoch's only problems, according to a report in U.S.
NEWS.  Earnings for Murdoch's News Corp. are expected to be flat
for the second quarter because of write-offs.  Twentieth Century
Fox is expected to lose "about $50 million" because of "two flops
and two marginal films" last Christmas.  Analysts estimate News
Corp. could lose as much as $500M over the next four years from
Fox's NFL deal "because advertising revenues aren't expected to
cover the purchase price" (Linda Grant, U.S. NEWS, 1/30
issue)....In the current issue of TIME, UPN gets a "winner" nod
for the "runaway success of new Trek show to smashing debut"
(TIME, 1/30 issue)....ESPN officials are considering America's
Cup yachting as a "hidden weapon" to lure viewers this summer.
Onboard cameras and microphones could make the event "a mass
spectator sport with about a million upscale homes tuning in each
day" (N.Y. POST, 1/23)....Microsoft and Sony will join in a
partnership to develop hardware and software for interactive TV
and other multimedia business (Don Clark, WALL STREET JOURNAL,
1/23)....GOLF DIGEST Sports Marketing has struck a deal with
Turner Broadcasting to launch the GOLF DIGEST's "Tour de Golf."
The tour will be a 20-city interactive Mall tour, starting next
May (COWLES BUSINESS MEDIA, 1/29)....Chicago's WMVP Radio may
"snatch" the rights to the White Sox from WMAQ.  Part of the deal
may include making White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf a partner in a
joint venture created to operate WMVP (CRAIN'S CHICAGO, 1/16).