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Apr 23 2008 4:36PM EDT

Bancroft Doyenne on 'WSJ' Editor's Ouster

For the members of the Bancroft family who opposed selling The Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch, the news that he has forced out managing editor Marcus Brauchli brings a chance to say those bittersweet words: "I told you so."

"I'm not surprised," says Jane Cox MacElree, who controlled 15 percent of the family's Dow Jones shares. "This is why I was not in favor of selling the paper to that man. Words mean nothing to him, unless they're his."

That's a reference to the editorial independence agreement between Dow Jones and News Corp., which is supposed to prevent the latter from replacing key executives at the former without the consent of an independent committee.

"How long did it last? A couple of months?" asks MacElree.

Asked whether other members of her family now regret their decision to sell, she demurs. "I'm not going to go there. I shouldn't even talk to you."

"It's over and done with, and there's no point in going on about it, in my opinion," she adds. "I just feel bad for Marcus."


Related: Christopher Bancroft tells Robert MacMillan of Reuters that expecting the editorial independence committee to protect Dow Jones from Rupert Murdoch's impulses is a "lovely fantasy."

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