Dow Jones's Bancrofts Set Private Meeting Over Offer (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

Family members who control Dow Jones & Co. are planning to hold a private meeting Wednesday to discuss their options in the wake of News Corp.'s $5 billion offer for the publisher, said people familiar with the matter.

The Bancroft family, which controls 64% of the voting power of Dow Jones through a special class of stock, hasn't taken any action on the $60-a-share bid from News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch.

Some members of the clan believe the family should explore the matter further and look into possible alternatives to Mr. Murdoch's offer, these people say. It isn't clear whether all the family's various branches will be represented at the meeting.

The meeting has no formal agenda, but it could be significant because it would allow family members to openly debate their ownership strategy for Dow Jones.

Previous meetings have been more scripted affairs, with investment bankers and others making formal presentations about the particulars of Mr. Murdoch's offer and the state of the news industry. Family members representing 52% of the voting power of Dow Jones have said they are opposed to the Murdoch offer.

Mr. Murdoch nearly two weeks ago sent a letter to the Bancrofts, urging them to meet with him and pledging to maintain the editorial integrity of The Wall Street Journal and other Dow Jones editorial properties. Family members have so far not met with Mr. Murdoch or responded to his latest request, though a minority of the family is in favor of a dialogue, according to people familiar with the matter.

In addition to selling to Mr. Murdoch, Wall Street executives say the family's alternatives could include looking for other buyers, a partnership with another media company or a transaction that keeps Dow Jones in family hands but buys out common shareholders.

News Corp is FOX. I wish they would take over a major media outlet and run it without the bias.

The dirty little secret is that "the bias" is embedded in the very structure of journalism. Journalism is defined by its deadlines, and short deadlines make for inherently superficial writing. Journalism exists to interest the public, and to do so it promotes the idea that the paper defines the public interest. But what is "in the public interest" and what interests the public two different things. What interests the public is what is unusual: fires, floods, war, depression. What is in the public interest is mundane - houses not burning down, water mains not breaking, people being gainfully employed, and so forth.
In consequence there is no such thing as profitable conservative general circulation journalism. It is a nonsequetur. What passes for conservative journalism is Fox - which simply is less negative than is typical of Big Journalism, but which is every bit as superficial. O’Sullivan’s First Law -
All organizations that are not actually right-wing will over time become left-wing
follows.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.