Zuckerman Takes Over N.Y. Paper

NEW YORK — Publisher Mortimer Zuckerman on Thursday completed his purchase of the Daily News, the troubled tabloid that was once the country’s largest newspaper but was brought to near extinction by financial troubles.

Zuckerman, a multimillionaire real-estate developer and magazine publisher, signed the $36.3-million transaction late Thursday and was to formally assume ownership today, said his spokeswoman, Sherrie Rollins.

Zuckerman takes over without a contract with the Newspaper Guild, and he began reshaping the newsroom even before he signed the closing documents.

“The bloodletting has begun,” said reporter Jerry Capeci. About 170 of the 540 employees covered by the Guild were being let go.

As the workday ended, reporters and editors stayed behind, some calling for a sit-in. In the lobby seven floors below, letters were being handed out telling people who had jobs and who did not.