Categories: OLD Media Moves

Bancrofts will meet on Wednesday to discuss Murdoch offer

Matthew Karnitschnig of The Wall Street Journal reports Wednesday that the Bancroft family that controls Dow Jones & Co., the parent of the Journal, plans to meet Wednesday to discuss News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch‘s $5 billion offer for the company.

Karnitschnig wrote, “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.”

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Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.