To: Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corp.
From: Jack Flack
Re: Dow Jones

No, you are not in need of rescuing.   But your reputation as a businessman is riding on how you handle your new purchase, and any conscientious flack would have to worry about how this story will play out for you.  

Based on the premium you paid, I assume you're betting that you can beat the commoditizing nature of the digital future by assembling a truly global business-news machine with overwhelming scale advantages and brands too powerful and pervasive to be ignored.  That strategy makes more sense than any other I've heard, and so here's my advice.

1. Send big signals early.
Do the symbolic things that convert skepticism into intrigue.

• Bust the frame.

Don't tip your hand by presenting a grand plan. But do speak simple, consistent, memorable words that will banish the common presumptions that the best route to profitability is through cuts. You should get tired of hearing yourself repeating, "We have a unique opportunity, and we will capitalize by building, not cutting."

•  Keep courting the staffers.

Your visit the other day was important.  But keep making it clear that you intend to make the Wall Street Journal the single best place in the world for serious journalists to work. If the union contract is still not resolved, announce key concessions on benefits the day the deal closes, saying that journalism's top people deserve journalism's top health care. Focus on rewarding the internal talent, and save poaching for the opinion pages.  Make a "hate-to-lose-ya-mate" phone call to Varadarajan.  He won't bite, but it's important that everyone know you made the effort. 

•  Kill the political presumption.

Show that your populist commercial instincts always trump your presumed political views by dragging the editorial page more toward the center. Challenge Paul Gigot by telling him you want the most compelling editorial page, not one best known for its ideological predictability. Surprise people. Sign Norm Pearlstine, Howell Raines, Andrew Sullivan, and Al Gore as regular columnists. Poach Tom Friedman, or at least offer him slightly less than what the Yankees pay a backup catcher.  If you get him, great. If not, the Times will at least be forced to play expensive defense.
 
2. Remove Zannino.

He is quite able. But no matter what he does, he'll never recover internally because he will always be seen as the guy who sold out. If Dave DeVoe  is already thinking about retiring, make Zannino your C.F.O. If not, pay Zannino a bunch of money to help spearhead your next deals. You want the executives sitting across from you in future negotiations to know that you take care of those who sell.  (And if you do cut jobs, have Zannino do it before he goes, freeing his successor of that baggage.) 

3. Bring Lachlan back to run Dow Jones.

That brings three huge benefits. First, it gives him a great reason to return. Second, it will significantly redefine what the word Murdoch means to Dow Jones. Third, it will lower your need for personal involvement. Lachlan has not only your nose for the scrum and genuine love of newspapers, but also his mother's polish and charm. Within six weeks, Lachlan will be trusted more than Zannino ever could be, because (a) Lachlan's surname gives him true authority, (b) Lachlan will drive an ambitious agenda that will eventually convince Journal staffers that they can win, and (c) Lachlan's personal appreciation for good journalists of every variety will prove itself genuine.

4. Give Lachlan the new TV network, too.

Ailes will pop a blood vessel when you take it away, but the move makes sense for the business. And it will send an important signal to Lachlan, whose job will be to fully monetize the brand power and content production of Dow Jones across all platforms.  

5.  Make brand decisions based on the future, not the past. 

Do not call it the Fox Business Network.  Nor should you call it, as some suggest, the Wall Street Journal Network. The former is an inferior brand with your targeted viewers, and the latter will have significant limitations as you evolve globally. Call it Dow Jones TV, or DJTV, and use the Wall Street Journal name to brand your smartest programming. Assume that over time you will want the full Wall Street Journal name to evolve into simply the Journal, which will give you much more flexibility around the world and across platforms.

6. Remake Barron's.

Yes, it's profitable right now, but it won't be long until the weekly becomes overwhelmed by the 21st century. More important, you must move quickly to fill the holes in your business-news portfolio. Turn Barron's into a slick weekly magazine with big cover impact. Think of it as a hybrid of BusinessWeek and the New York Post. Launch it by inserting it into the Saturday edition of the Journal for the first year. If that seems too ambitious, then prudently milk it as your predecessors did.

7. Double down.

Buy Pearson and divide the world between the Financial Times and the W.S.J. You might be able to do it for less than $15 billion and then enjoy watching the other side of the Atlantic chatter about your controlling the Economist. If you can't get the deal done, rename the W.S.J.E. the European Economic Journal and push hard to make the F.T. play defense in Europe.

8. Secure leadership through acquisition.

Make it clear to Hizzoner that Bloomberg would be your first choice, and accelerate the courtship as he considers his political options. Bloomberg's huge lead in data would be difficult to replicate, a competitive advantage that should not be underestimated. If he makes it clear that Bloomberg is not available for several years, then move on Thomson. But do it soon, so you can integrate Thomson, Reuters, and Dow Jones all at once, instead of one piece at a time.

9. Cover your global back door.

Make a plan for how you're going to stake out the same kind of business-news dominance in China and the Spanish-speaking world. (Somebody else will have to write those memos.) If you think business news will be big and profitable in the West, then consider how big it will be in China in 2020.

10. Avoid that longevity elixir that Sumner Redstone drinks.

I know you want to live forever, but apparently that stuff induces counterproductive behavior, like sabotaging your legacy by eating your young.

What will all that get you? It won't improve your image much. But it will set your legacy, as you will be the only one to turn the corner on monetizing business-news content.

And that will give Lachlan and James a strong hand when they sit down at the negotiating table with Larry Pages and Sergey Brin 10 or 15 years from now. When that time comes, I hope that I'm still around to write your sons a Rescue Memo of their own and that you're around to make sure they read it.

In the meantime, we should keep this global dominance strategy between you and me. It will be much harder to execute if your competitors get wind of what you're up to.