Photo: Getty Images
When last we checked in on the players in the New Corporation–Dow Jones drama — the star-crossed Bancroft family, their Wall Street Journal, the interloping scamp Rupert Murdoch, and the thousands of field hands who fear they’ll be sold down the river if Murdoch gets his hands on the thing — a British business mag was reporting that a purchase deal was essentially done and Dow Jones spokesmen were saying it wasn’t. Where do things stand today? The Times reports that the editor of that British biz mag insists his story is true; the Journal reports that Dow Jones is still desperately seeking other suitors, including Ron Burkle, though perhaps only as a way to get Rupe to raise his offer; senior Journal editors tell the Times a lot of Journal reporters will lose their jobs if no deal happens; one longtime big-shot editor left the paper for Business Week; and Norm Pearlstine, the former Journal managing editor who went on to run Time Inc., says in the L.A. Times that Murdoch should encourage the Journal to cover News Corp. aggressively. In other words, nothing has actually changed.
Expert on Murdoch Insisted Dow Jones Deal Was Done [NYT]
Dow Jones Makes Late Push to Find Other Buyers [WSJ]
Job Cuts Averted as Bid for Journal Stays Open [NYT]
Journal Editor to Join a Magazine [NYT]
You’ve Got to Cover Yourself [LAT]
