Walter Hamilton of the Los Angeles Times writes Wednesday that a number of Wall Street Journal reporters are upset at what led the paper to be sold to News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch.
Hamilton wrote, “The newsroom was particularly incensed by the detail, disclosed on the Journal’s website Tuesday, that Dow Jones had agreed to pay the Bancroft family’s advisory and legal fees related to the merger, which are estimated to be at least $30 million.
“The journalists viewed the payment, which would ultimately be made by Murdoch’s News Corp., as an improper incentive for wavering family members to support the deal.
“‘There’s a real feeling that this place covers the worst in corporate behavior and our executives should have known better,’ one reporter said.
“A Dow Jones spokeswoman refused to comment on the issue.”
Read more here, including one reporter’s criticism of former managing editor Paul Steiger.
