Stories related to: Wall Street Journal

A German publishing heir resigned from the Dow Jones board of directors yesterday in protest over the board's vote to accept Rupert Murdoch's $5 billion offer to buy the company. In his letter, Dieter von Holtzbrinck said the deal jeopardized the editorial integrity of the Wall Street Journal . "Dow Jones' unique journalistic values will strongly suffer after the proposed sale," he charged. More »

Mariane Pearl, widow of the Wall Street Journal reporter who was beheaded in 2002, has filed a suit in New York against Al-Qaeda for Daniel Pearl's "senseless kidnapping, torture and murder." Habib Bank—one of the biggest banks in Pakistan, which is linked to charities supporting terrorist groups—was also named in the lawsuit. More »

The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to file civil charges against Dow Jones board director David Li,  in an insider trading case linked to News Corp.'s bid for the company. As a board member, Li has access to inside information, the Wall Street Journal reports. He also has ties to a Hong Kong couple already charged with insider trading. More »

Get ready for the Fox Dow. If Rupert Murdoch is willing to pay $6B for a company that produced $105M in income last year, he must be seeing hidden opportunities, argues Brett Arends in the street.com. Dow Jones controls the name of the financial index—and if the sale goes through, Murdoch could change it to whatever he pleases. More »

Publisher Rupert Murdoch took a critical step towards control of the Wall Street Journal last night, as the Dow Jones board voted to approve a $5 billion sale of the company to the media magnate. Whether the majority-owning Bancroft family will also approve the deal is too close to call, the Journal reports. More »

Two members of the Dow Jones-controlling Bancrofts are making last-ditch efforts to block Rupert Murdoch from buying the Wall Street Journal publisher. Christopher Bancroft is frantically trying to gather the $2.55 billion he'd need to buy 51% of voting shares and block the sale on his own, while his cousin Leslie Hill is desperately soliciting competing bids. More »

With 30 million potential viewers already lined up, News Corp. will launch its new Fox Business Network on October 15. The cable channel will make its debut whether or not the pending Dow Jones deal is done, the Motley Fool reports, with Neil Cavuto at the helm and the onetime CNBC talking head's ex-employer in its sights. More »

Supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle and former MySpace CEO Brad Greenspan may join forces to make at least a partial bid for the Wall Street Journal 's parent company, say sources close to the discussions. The pair met yesterday with members of the Dow Jones board to craft an alternative to Rupert Murdoch's $5 billion proposal, though accounts detailing the potential offer differ. More »

As Rupert Murdoch tries to finalize a deal to take control of Dow Jones, the company is making a last effort to find an alternate buyer, pushed by a holdout director, Leslie Hill, who's a member of the controlling Bancroft family. The Wall Street Journal reports that among those being wooed are supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle and MySpace co-founder Brad Greenspan. More »

Rupert Murdoch has succeeded in his bid to take over Dow Jones, according to a report in a British financial magazine . The Wall Street Journal publisher is denying the report, although The Business cites inside sources who say the $5 billion deal will be formally announced next week. More »

A watchdog committee, not would-be owner Rupert Murdoch, would hire and fire editors under a tentative pact to protect the editorial independence of the Wall Street Journal ,  a source familiar with details of the deal tells MarketWatch. Members of the panel would be chosen by Murdoch's News Corp., Dow Jones, and the Bancroft famiiy. More »

Wall Street Journal employees around the country were intentionally late for work today in a job action to protest News Corp.'s impending purchase of Dow Jones. The union representing reporters coordinated the demonstration, Forbes reports, to give a collective thumbs-down to Rupert Murdoch and to protest recent developments in ongoing labor talks with the company. More »

Rupert Murdoch won't raise his $5B bid for Dow Jones, the media mogul said today. Murdoch deflected speculation that he would up the ante to move along negotiations with the openly skeptical Bancroft family, which owns a majority stake in the Journal publisher. Instead, Reuters reports, Murdoch is suggesting he could balk if the Bancrofts dither. More »

A plan to safeguard the Wall Street Journal 's editorial independence awaits the approval of the Bancroft family now that Dow Jones and News Corp. have "basically agreed" on an arrangement, a source tells Reuters. The Bancrofts still must approve the deal, which also applies to Dow Jones Newswires and removes a significant obstacle to Rupert Murdoch's $5 billion bid. More »

Rupert Murdoch's imperial ambitions in China have been marked by relentless cozying to its communist regime—motivated by equal parts opportunism and sinophilia—the Times reports. Murdoch's China outlets have toed the party line energetically, and the mogul, whose wife is a high-powered mainlander, has even personally lashed the Dalai Lama. More »

Rupert Murdoch's bid for Dow Jones may have seemed to come out of nowhere, but the Australian media mogul has had his eye on the Wall Street Journal for years. In three decades in the States, Murdoch has made his mark in news, entertainment, and, of course, politics. The Times takes the measure of an impressive set of tentacles. More »

Rupert Murdoch appears close to a deal that could pave the way for his takeover of Dow Jones' Wall Street Journal —a coup that seemed out of the question weeks ago, the New York Times reports. The deal is designed to safeguard the newspaper's editorial independence from Murdoch, who has a reputation for sensationalism. More »

General Electric and Pearson may yet work out an arrangement that takes advantage of their business-media assets, but their plans don't involve Dow Jones. The companies said today they won't pursue a deal with the Wall Street Journal publisher, brightening the outlook for News Corp.'s $5 billion offer, Pearson's Financial Times reports. More »

After more than a month of dithering by the Bancroft family, the Dow Jones board will take over negotiations with News Corp., greasing the skids for Rupert Murdoch's effort to acquire the company. With a $5 billion bid on the table, the board decided to "take the lead in addressing all aspects of the proposal," the Wall Street Journal reports. More »

Members of the Bancroft family would retain a stake in Dow Jones after selling a majority interest to GE and Pearson if one possible arrangement plays out, media outlets owned by the players are reporting. The Wall Street Journal outlines a venture incorporating Dow Jones, Pearson's Financial Times, and GE's CNBC; the FT reports that GE intends to move quickly. More »