By Bruce B. Brugmann
And so in the end Rupert Murdoch wanted the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones more than did the Bancroft family that owned them for more than 100 years.
Yet another sad day for the newspaper business as these crown jewels of journalism slipped into the Maw of Murdoch and the slime of the New York Post, Fox News, the O.J. Simpson autobiography, and Murdoch’s sellout ventures in China.
For me, the saddest headline in WSJ history was the top head on the front page of the Aug. 1 edition: “Murdoch Wins His Bid for Dow Jones,” with the front page subheads that nailed down the outcome for the world to see: “News Corp.’s Success Follows Delicate Dance Between Suitor, Target” and “Bancroft Family Agrees to $5 Billion Offer After Deal on Fees, A New Owner for Journal.”