Murdoch Buys Dow Jones
MURDOCH'S DOW JONES WILL HAVE MONEY, SCALE, TIME
[SOURCE: Reuters 8/1, AUTHOR: Robert MacMillan]
A Rupert Murdoch-controlled Dow Jones & Co Inc will have some key advantages over competitors: scale, financial resources and a little extra time to figure out how to grapple with new media trends. As investors heap pressure on newspaper publishers to find a way to captivate audiences that are moving to the Internet, Murdoch will be able to invest in Dow Jones and its Wall Street Journal newspaper, cut costs and insulate the business within his larger media empire, media executives and analysts said. Competitors from New York Times Co to financial news providers Bloomberg and Reuters Group Plc will need to form new distribution alliances and compete against the global network of Murdoch's News Corp, they said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/innovationNews/idUSN0140681320070801
* No 'slam-dunk' approval for Dow Jones-News Corp.: FCC
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B2DB07160%2D98D8...
* Dow Jones Director Resigns After News Corp Deal
Leslie Hill, a member of Dow Jones's controlling Bancroft family, is resigning from the company's board after participating in an unsuccessful effort to prevent the sale to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Hill says she is no longer able to "protect what this brand has stood for."
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSWNAS922720070801
* Five People Chosen for WSJ Safeguard Panel
Five people are being named to a committee that is intended to prevent News Corp. from dictating what goes into the Wall Street Journal. They include former Associated Press CEO Louis Boccardi, who is the only member of the group with a background in news, rather than opinion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/02/business/media/02journal.html
* WSJ Watchdog Member Has Murdoch Ties
Dow Jones says it did not know that Nicholas Negroponte, one of the five people named to the special committee to protect its editorial independence after it becomes part of News Corp., runs a foundation that received $2.5 million in funding from Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate.
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSN0223284220070802
* Commissioner Michael Copps:
It's interesting to hear the "experts" claim the transaction faces no regulatory hurdles. Not so fast! This deal means more media consolidation and fewer independent voices, and it specifically impacts the local market in New York City. What's good for shareholders of huge media conglomerates isn't always what's good for the public interest or our civic dialogue. We should immediately conduct a careful factual and legal analysis of the transaction to determine how it implicates specific FCC rules and our overarching statutory obligation to protect the public interest. I hope nobody views this as a slam-dunk.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-275689A1.doc
* Sen. Dodd: FCC Should Investigate News Corp-Dow Jones Deal
In a statement, Sen Chris Dodd (D-CT) expressed concern at the proposed deal and its "effects on consumers and the public goodwill be as a result of these types of media consolidation."
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200708021621DOWJONES...
* Edwards Urges Dems to Fight Dow Jones Sale
http://www.tvweek.com/news/2007/08/edwards_urges_dems_to_fight_do.php
* Murdoch’s Deal for the Journal: Yet Another Blow for Journalism
http://www.freepress.net/press/release.php?id=260
* The Media Equation: Murdoch Gives In, So to Speak
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/06/business/media/06carr.html