'What About the Journal?' A Report from the Special Committee

[Commentary] As a condition of the acquisition of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, in late 2007, Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. agreed to the establishment of a five-person Special Committee to oversee the continued editorial integrity of the Journal and its sister organization, Dow Jones Newswires. Given the recent revelations of telephone hacking, police bribery and other violations of ethical and legal standards at News Corp. properties in the United Kingdom, it's fair to ask of us -- as many people have in recent weeks -- "What about the Journal?" Since its inception, the committee has repeatedly reached out to a broad range of staff and management at Dow Jones. We have reviewed ethics procedures and enforcement standards. We have talked with former employees. We have reviewed the journalistic offerings of the newspaper. We have asked again and again: "Is anybody putting political, ideological or commercial pressure on you to influence your news judgment?" The broad and consistent answer we get is "no." To be sure, the Journal has changed in focus, style and content since coming under News Corp. ownership. This is both obvious to readers and documented in various studies. Reasonable people debate the merits of the new versus the old Journal. But in our view the long-established reputation of Dow Jones as a highly trusted source of news and commentary endures.