Continuing Coverage of the Dow Jones Story
A long time after being named as a potential suitor of Dow Jones (DJ), Ron Burkle has been invited to meet with the board to see if there is any favorable options for the company with the supermarket billionaire. The meeting is set for Monday, according to sources quoted by Reuters.
Last month Burkle threw out the idea of putting an employee stock ownership plan in place, as part of the new corporate structure.
Most of this is connected to the about face of Bancroft family member Leslie Hill, who originally supported the bid by News Corp. (NWS-A). This speaks to someone on the outside getting to her in some way and convincing her that the deal with Murdoch would be some type of disaster. I'd like to find that out who that person or those people are. If anyone has some information about that, leave it in the comments section.
With the Dow Jones board, they do need to be firm and not vacillate with the Bancroft family. While it's fine to look at other suitors, to wait this long doesn't make a lot of sense. They had plenty of time in the interim to communicate with Burkle. And there's nothing on the record that Burkle has been in serious communications with Dow Jones.
This has the look of panic and irrationality. It's going beyond business to almost a religious belief, in the sense of fanaticism. You talk about some people that take themselves too seriously, this is it.
As I pointed out in the last post on the Dow Jones story, Norman Pearlstine brilliantly points out in an LA Times article the hypocrisy of other media outlets in their attack upon Murdoch. He said that he can only think of one media leader that had true "editorial independence" in his long career in the industry. While he worked for years at the Wall Street Journal, it wasn't where that particular media leader worked.
He added that the Bancrofts never had "editorial independence" at the Journal, as it didn't write in-depth or insightful reporting about themselves or Dow Jones over their decades of ownership.
Again, much of this isn't making sense, as the Bancrofts are continually looking like amateurs and children who are caught up in forces they don't know how to deal with. They should just keep their noses out of it and let the Dow Jones board do their jobs. It's way over the Bancrofts head. And the continual interference by members of that family shows someone continues to work on pulling their chain to make them fearful of Murdoch getting the company.
Just when you think the Bancrofts made a good decision to turn negotiations over to the board, they start interfering again. Too bad they didn't take this much interest in the years the company has been struggling.
Related Coverage:
Is Rupert Murdoch being Held to a Higher Standard than His Competitors?
Dow Jones says Story about Completed Deal with Murdoch False
Wall Street Journal Editor Supports Dow Jones, News Corp. Agreement
New York Times Article says if Murdoch buys Wall Street Journal, Dark Day for American Democracy
What the Real Battle over Dow Jones is About
Rupert Murdoch Retains Power to Hire and Fire at Wall Street Journal
Dow Jones, News Corp. Come to Editorial Board Agreement
Dow Jones Deal Coming Closer to a Conclusion
Latest Plan by Bancrofts Shows Board may be Just Rubber Stamp for Them
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» Rupert Murdoch Bid for Dow Jones Already Saving Them Jobs from ManagersRealm
If Rupert Murdoch had not made the bid for Dow Jones & Company (DJ), a number of Wall Street Journal workers may have already lost their jobs, according to a New York Times article. They cited a person close to... [Read More]
Tracked on: July 9, 2007 3:45 PM | Permalink to Trackback