Murdoch gets comfortable at the WSJ

Joshua Chaffin and Aline van Duyn of The Financial Times write for Monday’s paper that News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch is getting comfortable at The Wall Street Journal even though he doesn’t close on his acquisition of parent company Dow Jones & Co. until December.

Chaffin and van Duyn wrote, “The television in the lobby, once regularly tuned to cable business network CNBC, now features News Corp’s Fox News Channel. Meanwhile, Mr Murdoch himself has become a regular visitor, setting up office in one of the conference rooms.

“During visits, he has met reporters and scrutinised everything from company strategy to the placement of specific photos in the Journal, according to people familiar with the matter. The man who launched his global media empire from a single Australian newspaper has also impressed Dow technicians with his knowledge of printing minutiae.

“The rapid pace of integration talks reflects Mr Murdoch’s personal enthusiasm for his prized acquisition. It is also a result of regulators not challenging the deal, which means that there are few legal obstacles to in-depth planning.”

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