Pat Robertson says his attorneys are looking into bid for The Virginian-Pilot

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, who has sharply criticized The Virginian-Pilot in the past, is considering making a bid to buy the newspaper, an associate said Thursday.

Landmark Communications Inc., a Norfolk-based media company, announced last week that it was evaluating whether to sell all of its assets, including The Weather Channel and The Pilot.

"Although the price for The Weather Channel is a little rich for my blood, I am considering a potential bid for the Pilot and have asked my attorneys to look into it," Robertson said in an e-mail forwarded by his personal assistant, G.G. Conklin. "It would be particularly helpful to provide internships for Regent University journalism students."

In a subsequent e-mail, Conklin confirmed his interest. Robertson, she said, "has no further comments to offer at this time."

Robertson is the first investor to announce that he might seek to acquire The Pilot.

A top Landmark official and some analysts suggest The Weather Channel and other weather-related properties might bring as much as $5 billion. No estimates have yet been floated on The Pilot, which most recently had an average seven-day audited circulation of 186,489. In addition to The Pilot, Landmark has a number of Web and print publications that do business under Pilot Media Cos.

Frank Batten Jr., the chairman and chief executive officer of Landmark, said Thursday he was not aware that Robertson was considering making an offer. Batten declined to discuss the possibility, saying, "I am not going to comment on the bidders."

Landmark officials have said the sales process could take six months or more to complete.

Robertson is the founder and chairman of The Christian Broadcasting Network and is host of "The 700 Club." He also is founder of Operation Blessing and the American Center for Law and Justice, which is intended to be a conservative response to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Robertson is president and founder of Regent University, a private Christian school in Virginia Beach. The university, which offers bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism, enrolled about 4,440 students last fall, according to state records.

In the past, Robertson has expressed interest in purchasing journalistic businesses but has not completed the deals.

He offered $6 million for the struggling United Press International news service in 1992 but dropped the bid a month later, saying it would cost too much to keep UPI in business.

In January 1995, a spokesman said that he was part of a business group interested in purchasing the Houston Post. In April of that year, the paper was bought by the Hearst Corp., owner of the Post's rival, the Houston Chronicle.

Hearst immediately closed the Post.

Randall Balmer, a professor of U.S. religious history at Columbia University who studies evangelicals, said an offer from Robertson "strikes me as a Rupert Murdoch kind of move, diversifying into different forms of media, obviously on a much smaller scale than Murdoch."

"It makes sense in a lot of ways," Balmer said. "It allows him to expand his journalism program at Regent University and to provide, in effect, guaranteed internships and a place of employment for his graduates."

John Green, a senior fellow with the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and a professor at the University of Akron in Ohio, wrote in an e-mail: "I don't know enough about Robertson's business plans to comment. I'm not sure owning the newspaper would further any political goals he might have - unless he has local political goals."

Robertson ran unsuccessfully for president in 1988.

Robertson began his media career in 1960 with the purchase of an independent television station in Portsmouth.

He was founder and co-chairman of International Family Entertainment Inc., whose principal business was The Family Channel. The company was sold in 1997 for $1.9 billion to Fox Kids Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of Murdoch's News Corp. Disney bought the channel in 2001.

Robertson has objected to articles in The Pilot that he has said unfairly characterized his pursuits. Most recently, an article last month said Regent's counseling program has experienced an exodus of nearly half of its faculty members. Students, the article said, have been punished for voicing concerns.

Robertson wrote a letter to the editor saying the article "left out critical facts that were provided to the writer."

"I am committed to giving both students and faculty what they need to perform with excellence," he wrote.

News researcher Jakon Hays contributed to this report.

Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com