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The idea that Times Mirror should buy the Sun was first suggested to Murphy by Los Angeles Times Publisher Tom Johnson, an old friend and colleague from the Macon (Ga.) Telegraph and News. "It's a beautiful fit for us," said Johnson last week. The Sun's owners, the Abell family, said that the Times Mirror offer was simply too generous to refuse. Critics wondered whether the Times was paying too much for the Sun. "Prices for media properties have been running high," admitted Times Mirror Chairman Erburu. "But if you make the right acquisition and get a satisfactory return, it's O.K." Erburu, who has led his company to record revenues and earnings for three years in a row, should know a good buy when he sees one.