Murdoch, Dow Jones board close to agreement on editorial safeguards

Richard Siklos and Andrew Ross Sorkin of The New York Times write for Monday’s paper that News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch is close to reaching an agreement on measures that are supposed to prevent him from meddling in the journalism at The Wall Street Journal, putting him one step closer to buying its parent company, Dow Jones & Co.

Siklos and Sorkin wrote, “Over the weekend, Mr. Murdoch responded to a proposal of editorial assurances the Bancrofts sent him on Friday, which his advisers described as wholly unacceptable and virtually identical to what the Bancrofts had proposed at a meeting with Mr. Murdoch three weeks ago. Mr. Murdoch’s counterproposal closely mirrored Mr. Murdoch’s initial proposal, said one person with knowledge of the offer who was not authorized to speak publicly.

“That plan resembles one put in place at The Times of London, which he bought in 1981. Some critics and former employees of The Times have accused Mr. Murdoch of reneging on his promises to not interfere in The Times’s news pages, though other editors have said he has maintained the paper’s quality and independence.

“It was not clear what the precise terms of Mr. Murdoch’s assurances to the Bancrofts were or why the family’s advisers, who turned over the negotiations for the company to the Dow Jones board last week, were warming to them.”

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