OBSERVERS VALUE THE SPORTING NEWS BETWEEN $32M TO $80M

          Publishing industry analysts predict that Times
     Mirror's The Sporting News (TSN) will sell "for at least"
     $32M, according to Margie Manning of the ST. LOUIS BUSINESS
     JOURNAL.  TSN's price tag "could climb" to $80M, but some
     analysts say that "that would be a stretch, given that" the
     magazine is "unprofitable."  Potential broadcast buyers for
     TSN include Fox, CBS and NBC, while Emap Petersen and Miler
     Freeman "top the list of print companies."  TSN Editor John
     Rawlings says that "it's all speculation" until Times Mirror
     releases its confidential memo expected out in about a month
     that lays out financial details and strategy.  Rawlings: "We
     won't know until we get the black book put together and
     people have a chance to look at the company" (ST. LOUIS
     BUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/13 issue).  Rawlings "acknowledges" that
     the sports publishing "landscape has changed ... most
     notably with the entry last year" of ESPN Magazine. 
     Rawlings: "There's no question that ESPN has hurt us"
     (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/13 issue).