We sort of suspected that Rupe's abrupt turnaround on the Newsday deal was all a bit too simple. And now it seems as though it may actually have just been the end of the beginning of the new New York tabloid wars. The NYT's is reporting that while Cablevision landed the deal to purchase the paper from the Tribune Co. (for reasons that are still being debated) they may need some help actually printing it since the Newsday presses are known to be "outdated."

There's nothing to keep Cablevision from making some kind of deal with either News Corporation or The Daily News on production, maybe distribution, even ad sales.

So, basically a nice way to make some cash without all those messy editorial decisions. It's also the sort of deal that could alleviate some of the NYPost's financial burden (possibly more so than an extra quarter). And while Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman may not be so strapped for cash, it is more or less a given that he has no intention of standing by and letting Rupe get the upper hand in anything.