Ottaway vs. Murdoch

Reuters reporter Robert MacMillan posted part of his interview with former Dow Jones executive James Ottaway Jr. on the Reuters blogs about News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch‘s bid to buy the parent of The Wall Street Journal.

Here’s part of it:

Q: Why you?
A: I’m no longer an insider… The Bancroft family is so divided… It’s almost impossible to expect them to have one statement they all agree on. Dow Jones directors are insiders, so they are by definition not supposed to talk. The management who know about the offer and terms and discussions are insiders; they’re not supposed to talk about it. It suddenly dawned on me after a week went by that I was the only person who could speak out in public.

Q: Why do you care?
A: I know and care about this company deeply, and thought: Someone has to speak about the larger issues involved.

Q: What about investors who snapped up the stock on news of a bid?
A: Those guys are snakes. Their job is to make money any way they can do it. They don’t care about Dow Jones. Their job and interest is to make a fast buck.