Empty Threats Department:
Wall Street Journal Division

Remember that bleeding heart neighbor of yours who swore he would move to Canada in 2004 if George W. Bush was re-elected? Yeah, we figured. He's still next door.

It turns out that Wall Street Journal subscribers might just be filled with similar hot air.

"I will never be able to trust the news in the WSJ again."

"Cancel my subscription."

"A 100-year-old legacy of journalistic integrity reduced to a marketing vehicle, sensationalist pandering, political soap box: See Fox News. I will not renew the subscription."

Those were a just a few of the threatening comments posted by readers on WSJ.com Wednesday after news that Rupert Murdoch had won his bid for the newspaper's publisher, Dow Jones & Co.

And today?

"So far, less than 200 of 1.7 million subscribers have canceled their subscriptions," Robert Christie, a Dow Jones spokesman, said late Thursday.

While that's a small number, there may be good reason for it: Customer service on overdrive.

Subscribers who call to cancel are, naturally, asked why they want to do so. When one said it was because of the sale, the Journal representative helpfully suggested to wait a month, to see how things played out.

Whether the extra month was gratis wasn't made clear. The subscriber politely declined before finding out.

by Megan Barnett