Mediators Suggests N.Y. Paper Talks Shift to Washington

NEW YORK--A top federal mediator yesterday attempted to launch a new effort at breaking the stalemate in the six-week-old newspaper strike by calling both sides in the dispute to intensive negotiations in Washington beginning Monday.

The announcement drew favorable reactions from union spokesmen who indicated yesterday that they would be ready to travel.

Effects Questioned

But a spokesman for the publishers, Jonathan Thompson of the Daily News, said his side was unsure of how a change in locale would "make a difference when lengthy negotiations proved meaningless and were broken off because of a lack of progress."

The publishers reportedly were planning to meet today to discuss an official response to the Washington invitation.