Why it Matters that the Daily Kos community needs to oppose Murdoch's purchase of the Wall Street Journal.
It is no secret to this community that Murdoch is a vile merchant of slime in favor of the right wing agenda. His record at Fox Noise and the NY Post among others, is ample evidence of his disregard for truth and the propogation of an insidious anti-American agenda. His sights are now set on the co-option of the Wall Street Journal. Granted, the WSJ is probably not the most favored newspaper of this site. However, the WSJ, despite its editorial flaws, is a national newspaper of significance. The Bancroft family, majority shareholders of Dow Jones, may not be icons of this site, but they have a significant legacy to protect and they are under great pressure to succumb to the Murdoch Empire.
The Bancrofts need to hear from you that they should stand firm against Murdoch as a matter of national interest. It is really this serious.
From the WSJ a few days ago:
After a board meeting yesterday afternoon in the Seagram building in midtown Manhattan, Dow Jones's board said that shares representing 52% of the company's overall voting power favored rejection of the $5 billion offer from Mr. Murdoch's News Corp., and that the company would take no immediate action.
The company's decision -- and the slim margin of the vote -- sets the stage for a complicated clash of interests and allegiances, which increases potential tensions between the Bancrofts, Dow Jones's board of directors and other shareholders eager to sell the company.
This country will not be served by a Murdoch takeover of the WSJ.
Please let the Bancrofts know that despite any ideological differences, we still enjoy a WSJ free of Murdoch poison.
Write them now, write them often and let your voice be heard:
OpJournal.help@dowjones.com
The following is an open letter sent by WSJ employees:
Mr. Drucker said his colleagues should address their letters to Leslie Hill, Christopher Bancroft and Elizabeth Steele.
Folks,
As some of you know, there is a movement afoot to appeal directly, via letter, to each of the Bancroft family members that sit on our board. I am urging you to take part in this. The Bancrofts are under tremendous pressure to accept News Corp’s offer, and that pressure will only become greater in the likely event that Murdoch raises his bid. The fact they have opposed it so far indicates that they are committed to maintaining the quality of The Wall Street Journal and all of Dow Jones’ publications and products – despite their opportunity to profit tremendously from accepting the offer.
A short letter addressed to each of the three – make a separate copy for each – urging them to stand firm can only help our cause. The board members are Leslie Hill, Christopher Bancroft and Elizabeth Steele. If you feel strongly enough to write such a letter, please try to get it to me by tomorrow (Thursday) and I will overnight a package of letters to each of them. If this is not feasible, I willl aim to get it to them by Monday. Our colleagues across the country are planning on taking part. My fax is [redacted] if you’re outside NYC and want to get it to me. (Or alternatively, perhaps they could be sent out from each bureau locations.)
Please forward this to as many colleagues (fellow reporters and editors) as possible who you think might want to take part. The list above is pretty short, but wanted to get the ball rolling.
Best,
Jesse Drucker
Staff Reporter
The Wall Street Journal
200 Liberty Street, 10th floor
New York, NY 10281
Here is what NPR had to say:
Rupert Murdoch has always wanted to own The Wall Street Journal. But the Bancroft family, which owns a controlling interest in the newspaper's parent, Dow Jones & Co., does not want Murdoch to take control. New Yorker columnist Ken Auletta offers his insights in a conversation with Steve Inskeep.
How big is Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.?
News Corp. is a $70 billion company. It's probably the fourth-largest media company in the world. It began as a small newspaper company in Australia, under Rupert Murdoch's father. He expanded that dramatically and it's now the largest owner of newspapers in the world, with about 170 newspapers.
And now he wants a controlling share in a gigantic newspaper that's been owned by the same family for decades?
He's always wanted to own The Wall Street Journal. He told me that years ago. And when I was doing a piece two years ago on Dow Jones, and the family that owns, or controls, Dow Jones, they made it clear to me that the last person in the world they wanted to own that paper was Rupert Murdoch.
Why?
What they said to me was that they worry that his politics would spill not just on to the editorial page, which is close to his views, but on to the news pages. And they didn't want politics to bleed into the news pages.
The Bancrofts were saying that they didn't trust Murdoch to maintain the integrity of the newspaper?
That is correct. And that becomes a big issue. And that's one of the reasons, I think, that they rejected this incredibly lavish offer of $60 a share that he made yesterday.
What is it that makes a newspaper in this era so attractive to a giant media company like News Corp.?
What makes it attractive to News Corp. are several things. One, Mr. Murdoch hopes to begin his new business cable channel in the fall. And The Wall Street Journal would provide, potentially, the reporting for that channel, the content for that channel. It's the most respected name in business news.
Second, it would provide business news for his worldwide empire. He's the only person in the world who has a worldwide distribution system.
Third, [to] a man who ... now owns MySpace, and has pushed ahead into online, The Wall Street Journal is pretty advanced in that area. [So] the online component becomes a very attractive component for Rupert Murdoch.
Are there other possible buyers who might have a chance to get The Wall Street Journal?
When I was doing my piece two years ago, the family made it clear they were not sellers. But if the Graham family that owns The Washington Post were to make a bid, they would be interested in that. And the second choice at the time was Bloomberg. They thought they were two people that respected good journalism.
The Graham family tends to be low-ballers. So that offer never materialized, at least one that would be attractive to the family.
As this goes on, there might be other bidders. But it's hard to imagine that other bidders would bid $60 a share, which is a very rich price.
And what happens then is the Bancroft family, which only owns a quarter of the stock, nevertheless owns two-thirds of the voting stock. So the family, if they stay united, can reject this offer.
Given that all kinds of newspaper stocks went up yesterday, is there suddenly a sense that newspapers have been undervalued?
No. I think what will happen here is if this bid is rejected by the family, that newspaper stocks will again plummet.
Because the perception on Wall Street, as crazy as this sometimes seems since newspapers are very profitable, is that newspapers don't have a bright future. Wall Street tends to look for growth. They don't see growth in newspapers, therefore they punish the stocks, even though these are very profitable businesses.
Don't let Murdoch get away this. Push back with everything you've got. His poisonous world view needs no more platforms in our America. Tell him to get lost!!.