It was true as Tribune sought bidders for the whole company.
So want to guess a likely topic Friday night, when, according to a source, they're expected to see each other in Southern California? You know, besides "American Idol" and the newest frozen yogurt stand to open in Malibu, where they both have homes.
"I remain interested in either buying or joint-venturing the L.A. Times," Geffen told me this week.
When I asked Zell the other day if he would consider a partnership with Geffen, he said he simply didn't know him well enough to answer.
They once dined together, Zell said. "But that's not enough to have an opinion, other than that he's a delightful character."
True enough, they have only broken bread once to date. They have, however, talked at various junctures during Zell's pursuit of a deal for Tribune, sources close to both men said.
That said, there is a difference between talking and having talks.
Zell hasn't officially joined Tribune's board yet, let alone become its chairman, two big steps that presume his plan to take Tribune private with an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, passes regulatory muster and no one takes up the $25 million breakup fee dare and offers a sweeter deal.
The notion of Zell working out some sort of arrangement with Geffen, in which Geffen kicks in some money to pay down the debt of Zell's deal for some sort of joint-venture on the Times that skirts the tax bill of an outright sale, isn't inconceivable.
Tribune, this paper's parent, has seen the Times, its largest newspaper, as a vital component to its Internet strategy, to say nothing of the still-hoped-for synergy with its Los Angeles TV station and the paper's impact on the company's bottom line.
But if, say, the FCC were to put the screws to the company on cross-ownership rules that restrict having a paper and broadcast outlet in one market, there might be a choice to make.
Still, the two billionaires are an odd couple. Zell has said this is a profit-driven deal. Geffen has said he would settle for lower margins so he could put more money into the product.
Zell told me he isn't ready to say what the role of the L.A. Times will be in the overall scheme of Tribune Co.
"We're in the early stages of mapping out an opinion, then I think we're going to run it up against everybody and see how our thinking and their thinking are similar," Zell said. "I'm not in any way ducking your question, but it's [early]. We're working hard to formulate our thinking and we're learning a lot."
Frankly, so is everybody who is trying to understand this deal and where it will take Tribune.
JERRY-RIGGED: Former Chicago TV exec Joel Cheatwood has left CNN Headline News to become vice president of development for Fox News, where he will nurture shows for Fox News Channel and the soon-to-be launched Fox Business Channel.
Cheatwood cultivated Headline News' shows for Glenn Beck and Nancy Grace. "Joel has a strong reputation in the industry for his good ideas and the ability to execute them," Fox News CEO Roger Ailes said in a statement.
In Chicago, Cheatwood has a strong reputation, too. He was WMAQ-Ch. 5's vice president of news and promotion when Jerry Springer was hired as a commentator and star anchors Carol Marin and Ron Magers resigned.
A SPIRITUAL TAKE: Chicago's Roland Martin, the WVON-AM 1690 weekday personality CNN signed last month as a contributor, will host an hour-long 7 p.m. Good Friday special for the cable outlet examining contemporary challenges through a distinct prism, "What Would Jesus Really Do?"
EYE, EYE: The Chicago Tribune's RedEye got dotted by a federal judge, who ruled this week that News Corp.'s Fox News Channel can keep calling its irreverent late-night news and comment show "Red Eye."
"The only similarities between the products are the fact that both involve a media used to deliver news," U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo ruled this week, shooting down the paper's request to block Fox News' use of the name pending their Aug. 6 trial.
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philrosenthal@tribune.com
