If Rupert Murdoch succeeds in buying Dow Jones & Co., he would be able to hire and fire top editors of The Wall Street Journal under the editorial independence agreement reached with the company, The New York Times reported Thursday.
“That is a far cry from the demands made by the Bancroft family, owners of a controlling interest in Dow Jones, and it remains to be seen how the Bancrofts — most of whom have not been told what was in the agreement — will react,” the paper added. “Negotiators for News Corporation and Dow Jones continue to iron out elements of what has been described as ‘an agreement in principle’ on editorial independence, and they expect to begin to debate the price of the deal soon. News Corporation has offered $60 a share, or about $5 billion.”
Traveling in Poland yesterday, Murdoch said, “We are just waiting for a final approval of the Bancroft family,” according to Reuters. “The final approval is in the next two, three weeks’ time or not at all.”
The element of the unusual editorial independence arrangement comes as the Bancroft family seeks to sell the company, but maintain the Journal’s image as a high-quality editorial product. “From the start, all sides have agreed to create an editorial board to oversee The Journal, but the Bancrofts and News Corporation have differed widely on its composition and powers,” the Times wrote.
The paper added that the family had given previous approval to a deal that allowed them to choose most of the board members, adding that the board would have sole power to hire and fire the Journal’s top editors, the publisher, and the managing editor of Dow Jones Newswires.
“But the board arrangement tentatively worked out by negotiators for Dow Jones and News Corporation on Tuesday would not grant hiring and firing authority,” the Times reported, citing “people close to the negotiations, who were granted anonymity to describe matters they are not authorized to discuss.”
The editorial board’s five initial members would be named by agreement between the Bancrofts and News Corp. and would name their own successors.
