August 01, 2007
The Dow Jones Deal: View From The Inside
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch's successful Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal takeover has generated considerable anxiety about whether the owner of FOX News and scores of tabloids will respect and preserve the Journal's integrity. The New York Times (subscription), Financial Times (subscription) and Slate, among others, questioned the wisdom of the deal as it developed.
The Journal's editorial page today suggested that such concerns were merely "crocodile tears" shed by competitors out to undermine the venerable newspaper. But outsiders are not the only ones bemoaning the deal; to find the most passionate dissenters one needs look no further than the Journal itself.
Today's WSJ article on the buyout details in dramatic fashion the tortuous negotiations between Murdoch and the Bancroft family, who have owned the paper for a century and have expressed concerns that Murdoch would "import the brand of sensationalist journalism found in some of his properties such as the New York Post."
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Posted at 5:00 PM
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July 18, 2007
Murdoch Gets One Step Closer
The Dow Jones board backed News Corp.'s $5 billion buyout bid last night, which will put the publisher of the Wall Street Journal in the hands of News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch. The decision was not unanimous among the 16 board members, but one source said a "strong majority" was in favor of the deal.
One of its terms allows Dow Jones shareholders to receive News Corp. stock, which would reduce the deal's tax burden.
Attention now shifts to the Bancroft family, which owns a controlling share -- 64 percent -- of Dow Jones. The family is set to meet Monday, and a verdict could come as early as midweek.
The Gate has background on earlier developments and the media climate surrounding the deal.
Posted at 10:12 AM
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July 17, 2007
Air Of Inevitability To Murdoch Takeover Of Dow
The full board of Dow Jones & Co. will vote on Rupert Murdoch's aggressive takeover bid tonight, and despite the Bancroft family's valiant attempts to run as fast as possible from the $5 billion offer, the sale looks like a done deal.
The Wall Street Journal, the Tiffany property of the company and the center of the Murdoch-Bancroft dispute, reports that the parties had reached a tentative deal, which will be put to a final vote later today. A source close to the negotiations says the outcome is still "too close to call" (subscription). But absent competitive rival offers, it's unlikely the answer will be no.
Many Beltway insiders give credit to the Journal as the country's most respected daily with a conservative editorial board. And in an environment seemingly dominated by relatively liberal ed boards, the church-state separation between the Journal's newsroom and its board, run by the highly respected Paul Gigot, could be reason to give Dow its due.
So it's little surprise that much of the paper's staff has joined the Bancrofts, who have 64 percent voting control over Dow, in resisting the Australian-American media mogul's courtship.
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Posted at 4:32 PM
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