Pact would let Murdoch hire and fire WSJ journalists

Richard Perez-Pena of The New York Times writes Thursday that the agreement between News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch and Dow Jones & Co., the parent of The Wall Street Journal, would let him hire and fire journalists at the paper.

The agreement is a prelude to News Corp. acquiring Dow Jones & Co. from the Bancroft family for $5 billion.

Perez-Pena wrote, “Early this month and again last week, the family gave Mr. Murdoch proposals that would allow them to choose most of the initial board members. They called for a board with the sole power to hire and fire the managing editor of The Journal, who is the top newsroom official; the editorial page editor; the publisher; and the managing editor of Dow Jones Newswires.

“But the board arrangement tentatively worked out by negotiators for Dow Jones and News Corporation on Tuesday would not grant hiring and firing authority, according to people close to the negotiations, who were granted anonymity to describe matters they are not authorized to discuss. In fact, one of these people said, the board would not even have the ability to veto News Corporation’s choices — a power wielded by a similar panel at The Times of London that Mr. Murdoch has offered as a template.

“The editorial board’s five initial members would all be chosen by agreement between the Bancrofts and News Corporation and would name their own successors.”

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