KEY POINTS:
At 2pm last Thursday 60 Wall Street Journal reporters gathered in the lobby of Tower One of the World Financial Centre in the heart of New York's business district to protest against Rupert Murdoch's bid for their paper.
The opulent Eighties building on the banks of the Hudson
is home to the Journal's parent company, Dow Jones, the target of a US$5 billion ($6.4 billion) offer from News Corp, the media conglomerate that Murdoch chairs.
For Murdoch, the paper it houses represents a glittering prize.
"Every newspaper proprietor covets an asset like the Journal or the Financial Times," says one media banker. "They are the biggest brands with a global reach."
The 76-year-old mogul told journalists last week he wanted to conclude the deal within three weeks "or not at all".
But all the signs are that the Bancroft family, who effectively control Dow Jones, are close to agreeing, two months after News Corp tabled a US$60-per-share offer.
The journalists gathered in the Journal's head office, and around 150 more who took part in the protest at bureaux across the US, were distinctly uncomfortable at the prospect of being owned by Murdoch.
"We wanted to make a very pointed public statement," says ES "Jim" Browning, the staffer who organised the demonstration.
"Dow Jones is not in financial trouble and it was not looking for a buyer. This came out of nowhere. It is an opportunistic move by a guy who sees huge potential in the company. The potential of the brand is limitless. If Murdoch is allowed to buy it, and then trash it, it would be a tragedy."
Murdoch is accustomed to being demonised, and despite the largely negative coverage in the American media in the last few weeks, there seems little chance the deal will be derailed.
Journal staff are pinning their hopes on a "white knight" bidder emerging, although the chances of one have looked slim since FT owner Pearson decided not to proceed with an offer late last month. Failing that, staff hope the Bancroft family, who hold 64 per cent of Dow Jones's voting shares, may change their mind about selling - despite reaching an agreement with Murdoch over measures to guarantee its editorial independence.
This week, the managing editors of Dow Jones Newswires and the Journal said they would remain committed to journalistic values under any new ownership.
The deal nearly collapsed after Bancroft representatives demanded a veto on senior editorial appointments, but it appears to be back on track after Murdoch threatened to walk away.
In the meantime, feelings are running high at the paper, where senior managers have been promised a share of a US$50 million windfall should they be made redundant when the deal goes through. Browning claims many of them share their journalists' scepticism about Murdoch, but they were unhappy about last week's protest.
"Some of them are trying to make their peace with Murdoch. We got a testy email from managing editor Marcus Brauchli [following last week's protest] which had obviously been written by lawyers." It told them their action wasn't permitted and could result in disciplinary action.
The Journal's highly regarded editorial team fears Murdoch will change the content and take it downmarket, although it is difficult to see why an astute businessman like Murdoch would risk damaging the paper's high-brow appeal. There is little doubt he will make changes, however.
"He has enormous editorial flair," says one of his former journalists. "He could make the Journal into a much better product."
In a recent interview with the New York Times, Murdoch confessed: "I'm sometimes frustrated by the long stories," adding that he rarely gets around to finishing some articles. He told the Times he likes the paper's neo-conservative comment pages, but would like to see more political coverage in the news pages and, just for good measure, added that he wasn't a huge fan of the Saturday Journal either.
Many in the US media point to the Times and its sister Sunday title, which have become more populist since Murdoch bought them. "They are not terrible papers, but they used to be great papers," Browning says.
However, the real beneficiary of a successful bid is likely to be James Murdoch, Rupert's youngest son from his second marriage. He currently runs BSkyB, but his father has consulted him extensively about the acquisition and there are rumours he could move to the US to run the paper.
If Murdoch jnr does take charge, he will help shape the paper's strategy. It has an enviable internet presence and was one of the first publications to charge for online content, but some believe it could make more money by giving it away and raising advertising rates.
"Murdoch's got less of an idea what to do with it than people think," says one industry source.
"He's less of a strategist than some suppose - more of a sharp tactician."
Perhaps, although Murdoch has said Dow Jones would be used to supply content to his planned Fox News business channel, and claims that alone justifies the US$5 billion price tag. He will also want to take on the Financial Times, a paper he has long coveted.
For FT journalists, the prospect of its bitter rival being owned by a newspaper genius with deep pockets is daunting. Murdoch tried to buy the FT in the 1980s, but according to one industry source, he was treated "like a colonial upstart" by its board.
"Rupert used to say he'd love to buy the FT, but always believed the establishment would stop him," says a former News International journalist. Buying the Wall Street Journal might prove a satisfying revenge.
- OBSERVER
