News Corp Rewrites Its Own Story

Warning: This is not a charm offensive. This is something far more powerful. It's a story... and it challenges "conventional wisdom."

Dec 14 2007

Parsing News Corp: Let's Eliminate the Middle-Man

Looking for the perfect person for the job? Hire yourself.

May 20 2008

Duly Quoted: Was 'WSJ' a Big Fat Waste of Dough?

"We believe Rupert Murdoch is fundamentally wrong in his view of Newspaper and Television Station secular growth prospects. Our mistake in having a BUY on News Corp., despite this view, was not comprehending the degree to which these assets could decline within a single 12-month period." -Outspoken Pali Research analyst ...

Nov 21 2008

Murdoch's Digital Agenda

Now that Rupert Murdoch has finally snared the Wall Street Journal after a bitter three-month takeover struggle, the victorious mogul can refocus his attention on News Corp.'s digital strategy, which has taken a backseat to his dogged pursuit of the...

Aug 02 2007

What Do the Journal's Readers Think?

The Wall Street Journal's owners may be split over whether to sell their company to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. The newspaper's readers are not. Comments attached to Journal articles about the Murdoch's $5 billion offer for Dow Jones & Co....

Aug 01 2007

The Fight to Block Murdoch's 'Newsday' Bid is On

Rupert Murdoch doesn't even have a deal to buy Newsday yet, just the outlines of one, but already the protests are starting. As I've reported, while regulators could find various reasons to block a News Corp. acquisition of the Tribune-owned paper, they might easily overlook them all in light of ...

Apr 22 2008

What's Not to Like About Rupert Murdoch?

The largest outside shareholder in Dow Jones & Co. is urging the Bancroft family to sell it to Rupert Murdoch, the Financial Times reports on its website today. Brian Rogers, the chairman and chief investment officer of T. Rowe...

May 31 2007

'Post' Publisher Grilling 'WSJ' Sales Staff

Rupert Murdoch sure knows how to keep the troops paranoid.

Nov 07 2007

Rupert Murdoch, Victorious

It's finally happened: News Corp has enough Bancroft votes that it's going to go ahead with its acquisition of Dow Jones.

Jul 31 2007

While Murdoch's In a Mood to Deal...

MySpace Founders Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe are demanding a two-year $50 million contract extension from News Corp. honcho Rupert Murdoch, according to Hollywood blogger Nikki Finke. But Finke, who used to work for the Murdoch's New York Post, doesn't...

Jun 26 2007

Murdoch Says a Majority Isn't Enough to Buy Dow Jones

Were they talking to me?

Jul 30 2007

WSJ on the WSJ

Has Rupert held out a promise of editorial independence for the Wall Street Journal?

May 02 2007

The Denver Bancrofts Play the Ultimatum Game

There's a famous experiment in experimental economics called the Ultimatum Game:

Jul 27 2007

Why Murdoch Can Make Money On His Dow Jones Investment

It's a bit embarrassing, but true, that the 76-year-old Murdoch has a longer time horizon than a public company which will almost certainly exist in some form for many generations yet.

Jun 29 2007

Rupert Murdoch: Probably Posturing

The Monday-at-5pm deadline has come and gone, and the WSJ, of course, has the best coverage of What On Earth Is Going On with the Bancrofts and Dow Jones.

Jul 30 2007

Can the Bancrofts Trust the Murdochs?

"It's a very difficult kind thing to actually put in writing," said Amy Mitchell, deputy director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Jun 05 2007

News Corp-Dow Jones: It's All Over Bar The Voting

The ink isn't dry, but if the news from CNBC is to be believed, the uncertainty over the future of Dow Jones is over.

Jun 26 2007

Rupert Murdoch Suddenly Looks Very Smart Again

The Bancrofts are clearly still holding out some hope for a white knight who can come along and save them from having to sell to Rupert. But there's now a very good chance that Murdoch will end up with his glorious prize.

Jun 01 2007

Two Murdoch Parties, But Wendi Gets Her Way

As Rupert Murdoch's official (if not always beloved) biographer, Michael Wolff had opportunity to learn a lot about the News Corp. chairman's family. One lesson he picked up: Don't screw with Wendi Murdoch's birthday plans. Originally set for next Monday, the party for Wolff's The Man Who Owns the News ...

Dec 02 2008

Murdoch: Newspapers' Great White Hope?

For a breathless moment yesterday, it seemed like Rupert Murdoch had revived the fortunes of the beleaguered newspaper business. After years of slumping stock prices, layoffs, bureau closings and general malaise, finally, someone had seen value in what journalists...

May 02 2007

The Future of the WSJ

Gordon Crovitz, the publisher of the WSJ, appeared at the Future of Business Media conference and did a reasonably good job of mumbling noncommitally about Dow Jones's future within News Corp: he clearly hasn't yet signed on to the Rupert...

Oct 30 2007

The Murdoch Charm Offensive Peters Out

There are limits to the effectiveness of Rupert Murdoch's charm offensive, it would seem. Judging by today's news, indeed, the offensive seems to have worked only on the journalists who were physically in the room with him when he was putting his case.

May 07 2007

News Corp's Cutest Board Member

"I'm not just some idiotic girl in piggytails yodeling," says Natalie Bancroft in an interview for the March issue of Portfolio, who was photographed by João Canziani. "I'm working my little butt off." The daughter of Joyce Bancroft, a...

Feb 19 2008

The Best Newspaper Owner

Jon Binder in Chicago writes with a question: What is the best way for newspaper media companies to structure their ownership so they can still generate sustainable profit and inform the public on issues of importance? [public, private, ownership...

Oct 31 2007

More on the Dow Jones Shake-Up

Yesterday, Dow Jones CEO Richard Zannino stepped down, and reports pegged his successor as longtime News Corp. executive Les Hinton. Today comes more detail, though not all of it consistent. First, some intelligence on what comes next from the Wall...

Dec 07 2007

Murdoch Takes Another Shot at Wooing Bancrofts

Dow Jones stock was trading below $52 today before news of Murdoch's letter came out. Maybe what Murdoch really needs is a credible threat of withdrawing his offer. The problem, of course, is that nobody would believe it.

May 14 2007

News Corp. Re-ups Ailes as Fox News Chief

Rupert Murdoch may or may not be fed up with Fox News, but his alleged displeasure, if genuine, didn't stand in the way of him giving Roger "more Murdoch than Murdoch" Ailes another five years at the helm. Drudge and Huffpo broke this news this afternoon that Ailes, who's 68, ...

Nov 20 2008

Murdoch Chipping Away at 'WSJ' Independence?

No one will be surprised when Rupert Murdoch starts meddling with the editorial machinery of The Wall Street Journal, despite a formal agreement to preserve its independence. But is he doing it already?

Dec 18 2007

Why WSJ.com Should Go Free

Sarah Ellison of the WSJ has more detail today on whether or not WSJ.com is likely to go free. Although Murdoch himself seems to see what a good idea it is, he is apparently getting pushback from Dow Jones CEO...

Sep 19 2007

MySpace Is Mike's Place

MySpace, the social networking site owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., will begin offering serialized, 90-second installments of Prom Queen, a made-for-the Web drama by former Disney chief Michael Eisner.

Mar 29 2007