company town

The Bancroft Family High Jinks: Ongoing!

MEDIA
• The Bancrofts are so dysfunctional that they missed the deadline for choosing their representative to the new Dow Jones board. Murdoch then vetoed two family nominations before agreeing to Natalie Bancroft, a 27-year-old opera singer and journalism neophyte. Family member Crawford Hill concluded: “This entire, sad and pathetic final episode is a fiasco. No wonder we lost Dow Jones!!” [WSJ]
• With the Times hiring former sex writer Susan Dominus as the newest “Metro” columnist, will the section be heading toward the look of “Sunday Styles”? [NYO]
• Nora Ephron: Blogging makes us better writers. Hey Nora, can you call our boss? [Mixed Media/Portfolio]

FINANCE
• Bear Stearns fired several employees for forwarding James Cayne’s memo on marijuana accusations outside the firm. [DealBreaker]
• Everyone on Wall Street is waiting for bonus announcements, which consultants predict will come in anywhere from flat to 10 percent down. But the pain likely won’t be evenly distributed: Stock traders will take home much more than those in bonds and mortgages. And though Goldman hasn’t determined individual bonuses, the bank has set aside $17 billion for compensation — a number so high, Bloomberg notes, that the firm’s employees could pool their cash and buy out all of Bear Stearns. [WSJ, Bloomberg]
• Analysts are predicting a $6 billion loss at Morgan Stanley. Will John Mack beat James Cayne and follow Chuck Prince and Stan O’Neal out the door? [NYT]

LAW
• Some say Aaron Charney only took home $100,000 in his sexual-harassment case against Sullivan & Cromwell. David Lat says $2 million. [NYO]
• Which associates are typically least happy at their firms? Minority women, and less than a third plan to stay. [Minority Law Journal]
• Justice Thomas may have published a memoir and given an interview to 60 Minutes, but he still hasn’t said a single word this term — and he didn’t ask a question for most of last term either. What’s up with the vow of silence? [Law Blog/WSJ]

FASHION
LVMH bought Les Echos, but the financial daily didn’t report it since its writers were too busy protesting. But don’t they get free LV bags and champers now? [WWD]
• Gucci and Puma? Yeah, making bank. [British Vogue]
• A holographic fashion show? Totally bad idea. [Jezebel]

The Bancroft Family High Jinks: Ongoing!