How long will ferocious WSJ reporting last?

David Carr of The New York Times wonders how long the aggressive reporting by The Wall Street Journal that documented the sale of its parent company to News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch will last under Murdoch’s ownership.

Carr wrote, “In the near term, or at least until the shareholders’ annual meeting, Murdoch will need to make nice with the company he just bought and run his new prize in a way that demonstrates that he plans to live up to the editorial independence deal he struck with the Bancroft family.

“But he’ll be challenged early by the Journal staff in the form of a hard-hitting story about one of his many business interests. Murdoch is probably too smart to take the bait.

“In the long run, it will be outside scrutiny from readers that will be more likely to keep him from interfering in the paper’s news pages, not an editorial independence committee.”

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