Categories: OLD Media Moves

WSJ publisher attempts to soothe reader worries

Wall Street Journal publisher Gordon Crovitz wrote a letter to its readers in Wednesday’s paper where he tried to calm them about any changes in the paper resulting in it being sold to News Corp.

Crovitz wrote, “What would a sale mean to the Journal and, most importantly, to readers? You will make the ultimate judgment, but the talented and committed journalists who produce the Journal have a simple plan. They will aim to do what they have done for more than a century: Earn and keep the trust of the world’s most demanding readers by delivering the most essential news and analysis.

“This highly differentiated journalism created by our nearly 2,000 business reporters and editors has given Dow Jones unique advantages in the transition to the Digital Age. We have a record number of paying subscribers to the print and online Journal; the Journal franchise remains the leading outlet for business advertisers; and people now get our news from many new-media outlets. In a digital world where the best brands have the best opportunities, the sizable offer by News Corp. is a reminder that value goes to those who apply great brands to changing technologies for the benefit of consumers.

“Readers can rely on this: The same standards of accuracy, fairness and authority will apply to this publication, regardless of ownership. Our reporters and editors feel an especially strong obligation because the Journal, from the beginning, redefined financial and business journalism.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.

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  • With NewsCopr now owning The Journal, next thiung you know Geraldo Rivera will be the emcee at the next DowJones event and, as one Wall Street analyst commented, you will see the picture of a hal-naked broker on page A3!

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