Receiving a blow from the slashed budgets of the advertisers amid the weak economy, the global media giant News Corp, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, reported a $6.41 billion net loss for the fiscal second quarter that ended December 31; a complete contrast to the earlier-year's $832 million profit!

News Corp's loss came after writing down $3.6 billion in goodwill, most of it due to Murdoch's 2007 acquisition of Dow Jones; $4.6 billion in broadcast licenses; and $185 million in newspaper assets, including the New York Post.

The New York-based owner of the Wall Street Journal and the Fox broadcast network has also projected a 30 percent fall in operating profits for the fiscal year to June, compared to its $5.13 billion earnings the previous year.

Even the forecast is a sharp downgrade from the company's November projection of a "low to mid-teens" percentage drop for the year.

Terming the ongoing global economic crisis the worst ever "since News Corp was formed 50 years ago," Chairman and CEO Murdoch told analysts that the company plans cutting costs and staff, in anticipation of a further weakening of the advertising-supported businesses.

Having already cut 800 positions across its Fox properties, News Corp expects a yearly saving of $400 million. Murdoch said the company intends another $10 million yearly saving by merging the backroom operations at the WSJ and NY Post, as well as its newspapers in Australia.