Categories: OLD Media Moves

How the WSJ covers Murdoch pal Kushner

Ira Stoll of the Future of Capitalism writes about how The Wall Street Journal, which is owned by News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, covers real estate investor Jared Kushner, a close friend of Murdoch.

Stoll writes, “The very first issue of the Greater New York section of the Journal (where a bunch of my former New York Sun colleagues work) carried a prominently placed article hyping the Kushner-owned 666 Fifth Avenue; today’s Journal carries a piece hyping the Kushner-owned Puck building.

“It’s certainly possible Mr. Murdoch himself had nothing to do with either piece and that it was all handled at the level of Howard Rubenstein, the public relations firm that represents both the Kushner Companies and News Corp.

“Neither Journal piece is egregious, and, in fairness, the New York Times does the Puck building piece today too, with an angle on competition among outdoor gear stores downtown (REI is opening in the Puck building) rather than how wonderful the Puck building is.

“It’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, and maybe I’m just an unusually skeptical reader. The folks I know who work at the Journal are all solid, careful journalists. But as a daily paying reader of the Journal I find myself doing this sort of discounting for ownership interests more often under the new management than I used to under the old management.”