Looks like Rupert Murdoch has won his bid to buy Dow Jones:
The Bancroft family has accepted News Corporation's $5 billion (£2.46 billion) offer to buy Dow Jones, the owner of The Wall Street Journal, a Dow Jones executive said this afternoon, citing an internal company document.
John Prestbo, editor and executive director of Dow Jones Indexes, said that “the Bancroft family has accepted” the offer, Reuters reported.
Dow Jones “will be part of News Corp”, he added.
Mr Prestbo told Reuters that the information came from an internal company memo. [...]
The Times reported this morning that News Corp was last night thought to be likely to be able to secure sufficient votes from the Bancroft family to proceed with a formal offer for Dow Jones.
It is thought that a significant number of Bancroft family voting shares had still not been accounted for last night, even after their self-imposed 5pm deadline to vote in favour of a takeover had passed. Some family members were thought to be still haggling with their bankers and legal representatives.
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Take that, drive-by media!
July 31, 2007 - 11:46 ET by NewsbusterbrownTake that, drive-by media!
}}}----> Ain't it great
July 31, 2007 - 11:52 ET by Cool ArrowStock fell through the floor when the family thought they could stand firm against Murdoch.
Their clever ploy must have really infuriated Murdoch.
The family that owns the most influential financial publication in the world gets done in by somebody they felt was beneath them.
Now there's a reason to exult.
Murdoch was probably the
July 31, 2007 - 11:57 ET by bassndudeMurdoch was probably the culprit in this. The family was holding out, wanting to keep it all or sell to someone, anyone else. Murdoch sold some of his vast DOW holdings, some call it profit taking, and bang! The DOW drops like a rock, and the family scrambles to sell before it fall farther. Murdoch smiles, and sayes, ok.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!
}}}----> family coalition
July 31, 2007 - 12:02 ET by Cool ArrowI heard the family attempted to build a new coalition within itself and the stock plummeted on the rumor.
WSJ will be missed
July 31, 2007 - 12:02 ET by Dee BunkI have to say I find this sad. I loved the WSJ. Even though the news articles were still very liberally biased, the paper was very good at avoiding sensationalism. I'm glad that Murdoch created a cable channel that was more balanced, but I doubt he will do the same with the WSJ. He has taken over many papers and none that I know of have become more conservative, only more sensational. The Chicago Sun Times (I don't know if he still owns it) stayed just as liberal but became much more sensational after he purchased it.
I fear that the WSJ will now show sensational pictures and cheesy headlines and slowly lose it's professionalism.
oh well - no big deal:)!
July 31, 2007 - 12:07 ET by TruthMongeroh well - no big deal:)!
Then why did the libs
July 31, 2007 - 12:24 ET by dscottThen why did the libs villify Murdoch so if he wasn't going to make changes down the road after buying up the WSJ? Do they know something we don't or were they just being paranoid?
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane"
its both - most libs
July 31, 2007 - 12:30 ET by TruthMongerits both - most libs consider the WSJ to conservative already
Murdoch will clear out some of the liberal BS - but probably not all of it - just like Fox news
He may jazz it up graphically and content-wise, nothing radical im sure
But he's purchasing a massively successful product already and so i don't think he wants to lose the core of the WSJ success - what he usually tries to do is shake off the Derby hats and get rid of the outdated aspects of his aquisitions in order to enhance the successful core - of course he's not perfect so it doesn't always work
I think the WSJ will definitely change for the getter - but gradually
Truthmonger
July 31, 2007 - 12:58 ET by Dee BunkI don't think he'll clear out any liberal BS - it will only get worse. The Chicago Sun Times did. I think he sold it a few years back but , but then and now it is the more liberal Chicago newspaper. It definitely became more liberal and cheesy after he purchased it. The Tribune is still very liberal but not as cheesy.
One of the best things about the WSJ is that it didn't use pictures. Changing it graphically will automatically change the content also. I met a WSJ marketing manager at a party and she was going on and on about how the WSJ needed to add pictures. Specifically she talked about adding front page pictures of dead soldiers and grieving people. She had worked for USA today and considered them to be a superior paper. I think people like her are going to win out with any take over by Murdock.
The only way to improve on the WSJ is to get more conservative reporters and that is not likely to happen.
Truth & dscott
July 31, 2007 - 12:35 ET by Dee BunkIt is a big deal to me because it is the only paper I knew of that avoided sensationalism. You can't get rid of bias, because most journalists are liberal. You can demand professionalism though and I think the WSJ was the most professional around.
Libs are programmed to hate Murdoch because of FNC. They don't think - it's purely emotional. Unless Murcoch handles this one differently than his other newspaper acquisitions, the paper will become more overtly liberal and sensational.
Even FNC is very sensational. The only professional programs are Brit Humes Special Report and Chris Wallace's Sunday program.
I'm glad that Murdoch
July 31, 2007 - 12:57 ET by NewsbusterbrownI'm glad that Murdoch created a cable channel that was more balanced, but I doubt he will do the same with the WSJ. He has taken over many papers and none that I know of have become more conservative, only more sensational.
Well, the New York Post certainly became more sensational, but it also became more conservative.
Hopefully with the WSJ, Murdoch does the latter without the former.
NBB - I hope so
July 31, 2007 - 13:04 ET by Dee BunkI don't know much about the NYP. Are you saying the actual news articles became more conservative or the editorials? I have never seen a conservative newspaper that had a conservative slant in the news articles. The closest thing to a newspaper with a conservative slant that I've seen is The Weekly Standard.
NYP is right leaning
July 31, 2007 - 14:21 ET by midnight cowboyActual news stories in the New York Post are usually right of center. Unlike the Weekly Standard they tend to sensationalize a bit. However, even their gossip columnist has a strain of common sense in her articles.
My test to see how balanced a newspaper is, is if I can read up to the sports section without throwing the paper across the room, it is then considered either fairly balanced or leans right. So far the New York Post has never flew the distance of the New York Times or a Time magazine.
The NYP is one of the few newspapers in NY or across the country that is continually increasing their circulation while all the others "Main Stream" papers are taking nosedives.
NYP ir a right wing paper?
July 31, 2007 - 14:24 ET by bassndudeNYP ir a right wing paper? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Thanks for the laugh. Oh! You mean right of center in NYC? Well that may be true enough. After all, judging by who you elected to the senate, most of NYC is either socialist or communist.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!
bass NYC is
July 31, 2007 - 14:41 ET by midnight cowboybass
NYC is not socialist or communist. They are just plain stupid with some socialism and communism added into the mix. If you were from another civilization looking in at the people of NYC you have to wonder that, their city suffered the worst single attack in history, and who do they hate? The man who is hunting down and killing the people who attcked their city. Go figure.
Sometimes some sanity kicks into NY'ers. They did elect Al Damato a pro-life republican to the senate for 3 terms, They elected Pataki (OK a RINO), for 3 terms and Rudy 2 terms the second one by a lansdlide.
Point taken Midnight. Its
July 31, 2007 - 14:47 ET by bassndudePoint taken Midnight. Its just that everytime I have ever been there, there are nothing but left wing kooks everywhere.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!
NB scoops Drudge.
July 31, 2007 - 12:08 ET by pocomocoNB scoops Drudge.
OMG!!! It's the end of news
July 31, 2007 - 12:40 ET by BeowulfOMG!!! It's the end of news as we know it!!!
The Closed Mind Erects Strong Barriers
I am enjoying all of this
July 31, 2007 - 18:55 ET by bigtimerI am enjoying all of this immensely...
Go suck a lemon msm.
Get over it.
Wahhhhaaaahahaaaa....Cry me a river....
LMAO!