The Wall Street Journal seems to think so.

People familiar with the situation say Mr. Murdoch has long eyed titles such as the Los Angeles Times, whose parent company, Tribune Co., is due to emerge from bankruptcy in coming months. In the interview, Mr. Murdoch played down his interest in the paper, saying it would have to be looked at “closely,” citing regulatory restrictions, among other things.

The news came at the same time Murdoch announced his intention to peel off News Corp.’s newspaper assets into a separate corporate entity from its entertainment holdings. Once that move is completed, his new print company plans to go on an “acquisition” spree. Normally we’d be terrified at that prospect. But with Douglas Manchester sizing up newspapers up and down California, we’d actually be somewhat relieved to see Murdoch take over.