Fairfax Media is plotting to clinch a triumvirate of deals before Christmas to lay the ground for a full-blown merger with a free-to-air television network in the New Year. According to sources, the publisher of The Age and Sydney Morning Herald is in advanced talks with Macquarie Radio and APN News & Media about a string of transactions involving Fairfax’s underperforming radio business… Fairfax chief executive Greg Hywood is trying to engineer a $200 million merger with ad baron John Singleton’s Macquarie Radio to create a talkback network spanning four capital cities… Because ARN handles advertising sales for Fairfax’s Perth station, the two sides have a pre-existing commercial relationship and a basis for negotiation. For ARN, owning a Perth FM station creates a five capital city radio network, which has upside potential through advertising deals that can aggregate bigger audiences.