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Continuing Coverage of the Dow Jones Story 

Is Pinch Sulzberger going to feel the pinch soon?

The acquisition of Dow Jones & Co. (DJ) by News Corp. (NWS-A) will not only put more pressure on the New York Times (NYT) as far as impact and creating the news agenda, but from a business point of view, will put a lot of pressure on the Sulzbergers, the family that owns that entity as well.

There probably is no way the Times could be bought out in the way the Bancrofts were because the trusts of the Sulzbergers are set up differently. It would take a larger majority to allow any sale to go through.

What this will do for sure is put pressure on Pinch Sulzberger, who is chairman of the board's and publisher's office at the New York Times.

This post I want to talk about the problem of prestige as it relates to those families that held control of Dow Jones and the New York Times.

You know there's a business problem when you hear people referring to the companies as "venerable" or "custodians of trust," "guardians" or "prestigious." From a business perspective, it's another way of saying the company isn't being run well. Going to the past accomplishements well doesn't look good for any company.

Another big problem the Times has created for its self is its move toward being a partisan vehicle for the left wing of the Democratic party. That has caused many conservative people to not only attack it, but abandon it as a trusted resource. When people and advertisers start to abandon it in big numbers, you know the business is in trouble. That has happened to them in the last several years.

As Thomas Lifson says, quoting union organizers,"You can't eat prestige." The point is a business must be run like a business and for its consumers. The Bancroft and Sulzbergers haven't done that with the respective roles they played in their businesses.

All those things like prestige and being national treasures need to be thrown out the window before business owners or leaders actually start to believe them. Competitors don't care what you call yourself or allege to be. They'll compete based on their core purpose and values and come at you no matter what.

It's like in sports where some teams that face highly reguarded opponents say when they're about to enter battle with them: "We can't give them too much respect." The Bancrofts and Salzbergers have and will find out that it's going to be a reality in this new business and media climate.