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| | A Mogul's Migraine - Newsweek Business - MSNBC.com |
 | | Malone, whom Al Gore once dubbed the head of "the cable cosa nostra," was for decades the foremost make-or-break player in cable, playing a pivotal role in launching Discovery, BET, QVC and most of Ted Turner's outlets, including CNN. |
 | | Malone knows Murdoch's playbook, too, in part because they've often teamed up over the past 15 years for, among other things, a sports-programming partnership, acquisition of a satellite broadcaster and the $2.5 billion transaction for TV Guide. |
 | | Malone, catching Murdoch off guard, swapped a huge block of nonvoting News Corp. stock and almost $700 million in cash for new shares that pushed his voting stake to 9.1 percent, second only to Murdoch's 30 percent. |
| www.msnbc.msn.com /id/6542345/site/newsweek (1022 words) |
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