Rupert’s Tuesday

The media mogul had one of the busiest days in the history of the industry, dusting the Wall Street Journal’s top editor, moving to buy  Newsday and  forcing the New York Observer to replate its front page. But the late shift at the Observer was worth it. Absolute total must-reading for media-industry mavens, the Observer piece asks the obvious question: Is Murdoch going to war against the New York Times? UPDATE: Over at the Times, they’re paying Pérez-Peñariffically close attention. Killer quote, from a Journal-newsroom fan of the departing holdover editor: "Marcus kept pushing back, saying he would protect the culture, and now that he’s gone, what’s going to happen?" Oh, a lot. A lot is what’s going to happen.

STOP-THE-PRESSES-DATE: QED. On Wednesday, Murdoch rents 82,000 square feet in Midtown, nine blocks from the new Times building, paving the way for the WSJ to move from Lower Manhattan.