More on Dow Jones

Of course, the media world is awash in commentary about the Dow Jones deal and "what it all means." It would be impossible to summarize it except to say there is a range of opinion, from "he won't really change anything" to "it's over."

If you're interested in reading more, go to Romenesko's page on Poynter: http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45.

A couple of my own follow-up thoughts:

• One of the stories mentions that Murdoch-watchers will be on the lookout for WSJ stories about Murdoch or his business interests, looking for bias or soft-peddling. That's the least likely thing to happen. First off, they probably won't write much about Rupert and News Corp. beyond press releases (pretty much following the New York Times' model of covering itself). What will happen is that over time, all business news in the Journal will be less hard-hitting and more deferential to business. Journal reporters and editors will find that this is where their bread is buttered and will either accept this state of affairs or move on.

• Personally, I've found the Journal boring and uninviting for the last several years, and I'm not sure why. Except for the occasional juicy investigative piece or quirky A-hed story, there just hasn't seemed to be much in the Journal beyond business-as-usual. I even contemplated canceling my print subscription and going for online only, but their web site is so dreadful I decided that wasn't a good alternative. So to some extent, I think Dow Jones and the WSJ were ripe for the taking, and perhaps Murdoch's forces will actually inject some much needed life into the operation.


• No one's talking about the effect on other Dow Jones properties yet, particularly the Dow Jones newswire. This is an absolute lifeblood of the securities industry, and I think its impartiality and honesty has been taken for granted for generations. What will people think once Murdoch owns it? Does it matter anymore in a world in which there are so many other sources of business news?