CBS Profits Fall 57%; Revenue Is Down Slight 2%

CBS Inc., reportedly the target of a takeover attempt and under attack by a conservative group, said today its first-quarter profit sank 57% from a year earlier on a 2% dip in revenue.

CBS had said last month that its 1985 earnings would be hurt by the company’s $400-million acquisition of Ziff-Davis Publishing Co.

Net income for the first three months of the year totaled $16.7 million, or 56 cents a share, compared with $38.9 million, or $1.31 a share, in the same period a year ago.

CBS Chairman Thomas H. Wyman said the broadcasting division performed solidly, with profit up 9% on a 3% gain in revenue.

There have been published reports that broadcast magnate Ted Turner is preparing an attempt to acquire CBS. Separately, Fairness in Media, affiliated with conservative Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), has said it will continue its battle to gain control of CBS to end what it calls a liberal bias in the network’s news reporting.