Tag Archives: Marketwatch
What would WSJ disclosure be with Murdoch as owner?
by Chris Roush
Slate.com media critic Jack Shafer wonders Wednesday how long the disclosure would be in The Wall Street Journal if News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch is successful in purchasing its parent company, Dow Jones & Co.
Shafer notes that the Journal currently uses a disclosure sentence that mentions that Dow Jones owns Barron’s, Marketwatch, Factiva and provides content to CNBC, among other operations.
Shafer wrote, “Presently, the Wall Street Journal doesn’t run a disclosure every time it cites a CNBC show or makes a passing mention of a publication or business that competes with Dow Jones. So there’s no obvious reason why a News Corp.-owned Journal would have to disclose its parent company’s holdings if it mentioned Facebook, a movie from Paramount Pictures, a book from Random House, a show on NBC, the New York Daily News, LexisNexis, ESPN, Comcast, the Dish Network, or any of the thousands of companies that directly compete with News Corp.
“But common sense would dictate the inclusion of some sort of rider in full-fledged news stories about News Corp. competitors. My rough estimate indicates that upwards of a dozen News Corp. competitors make Journal-worthy news each day. According to today’s (July 11) ‘Index of Business,’ which appears on Page B2 daily, there are three mentions of News Corp. in the paper. Would Murdoch continue to alert readers to the Journal‘s potential conflicts of interest in his coverage?
“If he did, would it make any difference? I’ve argued repeatedly that a Murdoch-owned Journal would be a journalistic disaster because wherever Murdoch goes on the planet, he uses his enterprises to advance his personal interests and his business interests. So, my guess is that no, he wouldn’t disclose News Corp.’s conflicts.”
Read more here.Â
Reviewed.com claims it's better than Consumer Reports
by Chris Roush
Marketwatch media columnist Jon Friedman writes Monday about Reviewed.com and its founder, Robin Liss, who has yet to turn 23 but claims her consumer products web site is better than Consumer Reports in many areas.
Friedman wrote, “Days shy of her 23rd birthday, Liss is the founder and chief executive of Reviewed.com, a network of consumer-electronics publications devoted to product critiques and reviews, consisting of CamcorderInfo.com, DigitalCameraInfo.com, WirelessInfo.com and PrinterInfo.com. Her publications draw about 750,000 to 800,000 unique visitors and 6 million page views a month.
“The way Liss is going, she appears to be on her way to establishing the online answer to Consumer Reports. ‘In the categories we’re in, I think we’re better and more comprehensive than Consumer Reports,’ she told me.
“Of the 20 full-time employees at Reviewed.com, Liss is the youngest. ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ has profiled her and she appears often on other TV-news shows.”
Read more here.
Greenspan willing to team up to bid for Dow Jones
by Chris Roush
Brad Greenspan, the former CEO of the company that once owned MySpace, told The Los Angeles Times that he would be willing to work with an investment firm recruited by Dow Jones & Co. staffers to fashion a joint bid for the financial news empire.
Greenspan has made an offer to buy 25 percent of the company, which owns The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, Barron’s and Marketwatch.
Joseph Menn of The Times wrote, “Brad Greenspan, who made a reported $47 million when his EUniverse was sold to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., said in an interview that he would be happy to join forces with Yucaipa Cos.
“Controlled by Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle, Yucaipa has been advising the main union representing Dow Jones journalists, including those at the Wall Street Journal.
“‘They’ve certainly got great experience, and we would welcome working with them in some capacity,’ Greenspan said. ‘We are definitely open to talking to any other parties.’
“He declined to say whether talks had begun.”
Read more here.
Bancroft temperature must now be taken
by Chris Roush
Sarah Ellison of The Wall Street Journal writes that now that Dow Jones & Co. and News Corp. have agreed on principles to protect the newspaper from interference, the measures need to be taken to the Bancroft family that controls the company.
The Bancrofts still have the final say on whether to sell Dow Jones, which owns The Journal, Barron’s, Dow Jones Newswires and Marketwatch, to News Corp.
Ellison wrote, “Now, the Bancroft family, which has controlled Dow Jones since early in the 20th century, will have to weigh in. The two sides still have not come to an agreement on price, and a decision on whether to complete an overall deal could still be days away, say people familiar with the situation. Though the family has overcome some of its previous doubts about selling the company, the situation remains fluid, and some members continue to privately express resistance to a deal. The family’s main concern has been protecting the editorial integrity of the Journal and other Dow Jones properties.
“Last week, the Bancrofts ceded the negotiations over editorial protections to the company’s board, which largely supports the sale. But the family’s control of most of the super-voting shares in the company gives it ultimate veto power, and the family has been ambivalent from the start.”
Read more here.
Wall Street Journal wins two Loeb Awards
by Chris Roush
The Wall Street Journal, Baltimore Sun, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Marketwatch, The New York Times and Syracuse Post-Standard were winners of the 2007 Gerald Loeb Awards given out Monday evening in New York.
Charles Fishman of Fast Company magazine and columnist Steve Bailey of the Boston Globe also received awards, considered the Pulitzer Prizes of business journalism.
The Journal won two awards. Its series of articles last year on the backdating of stock options, which earlier this year won a Pulitzer Prize, was the winner in the large newspaper category, while Ann Davis, Henny Sender and Gregory Zuckerman of The Journal won in the deadline writing category for a story about the implosion of a highflying hedge fund.
The Sun reporters Chiaki Kawajiri, Gady A. Epstein and Stephanie Desmonwon won in the medium newspaper category for a series of stories that judges said was a “well-written tale of Maryland’s storied blue crab artfully woven into a saga of globalization and entrepreneurship, revealing both the winners and losers of outsourcing, fueled by the American consumer’s demand for cheap products.”
Mike McAndrew and Michelle Breidenbach of The Post-Standard in Syracuse, N.Y. won in the small newspaper category for a series that revealed New York’s appallingly mismanaged Empire Zone program of tax incentives designed to promote and expand businesses, and exposed millions of dollars in waste. Despite fierce resistance from the city, the reporters crafted a classic piece of investigative journalism by scouring property records, federal securities disclosures and other public records.
Fishman won in the magazine catagory for “How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change the World? One,” a story about energy conservation and personal responsibility.Â
Bailey was the commentary category winner while Heather Landy of the Star-Telegram won in the beat reporter category for “Radio Shack CEO’s Resume in Question.”
Alistair Barr of MarketWatch won in the news service and online category for “Who Are the Short Sellers?,” while Louis Uchitelle of The New York Times was the feature writing winner for “Rewriting the Social Contract.”
NBC News and CBS’ “60 Minutes” won in the television categories, while Chris Anderson was the business book winner for “The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More” published by Hyperion Books. Â
Dow Jones board move signals rift with Bancroft family
by Chris Roush
The decision by the Dow Jones & Co. board to take over negotiations with News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch and other potential bidders for the company that owns The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and Marketwatch signals a growing rift between the Bancroft family that controls the company and the business itself, writes Sarah Ellison of The Journal.
Ellison wrote, “The move, approved by the the four board members affiliated with the Bancrofts — three family members and their attorney — is likely to speed any deal between News Corp. and Dow Jones, the owner of The Wall Street Journal, and highlights a growing rift between Bancroft family members and the company they control.
“In recent weeks, members of the Bancroft family had grown wary of any deal with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., and had been laboring over a proposal to safeguard the editorial independence of Dow Jones. But as the family’s negotiations with each other and their advisors continued with no resolution in sight, the company’s directors were growing increasingly concerned that by not responding to Mr. Murdoch, the family was endangering the negotiations.”
Read more here.
Bidder says he can triple views to WSJ.com and Marketwatch, beat CNBC
by Chris Roush
Internet executive Brad Greenspan, who offered Wednesday to purchase a 25 percent stake in Dow Jones & Co., the parent of The Wall Street Journal, said in a letter to its board that he believes he can triple the views to the newspaper’s web site as well as to Marketwatch.com, which is also owned by Dow Jones.
In his letter, Greenspan, who was once the CEO of the company that ran MySpace, said that he could “grow the WSJ.com and Marketwatch.com websites in the aggregate from current approximate size of 4.3 million U.S. unique users per month combined (according to Comscore/April07) to 15 million U.S. monthly unique users per month. This will vault WSJ/Marketwatch to the position of the most visited/popular/viewed online business website ahead of Yahoo Finance at 10.97 million monthly unique users (Comscore/April07).”
He also wants to develop a new broadcast strategy for the company. In the letter, he stated that he could “leverage growth of online audience to cross-promote, invest in creation of, and launch DJ branded content on television both domestically and in European/Asian markets.”
His goal would be to beat CNBC. Greenspan wrote, “DJ brands (online/offline) on a daily basis touch approximately 2.7 million people. JI believes that a reasonable effort in promotional efforts could quickly get 10% cross-viewership or 270,000 daily viewers of the DJ financial channel. Within 36 months, a financial channel strategy/effort could create the #1 business brand with 270,000 daily viewers or a leading broadcast brand or family 30% larger then CNBC today. Goal- Within 36 months, have DJ financial news channel/programming that has larger daily audience then CNBC.”
Greenspan argued that his offer was better than the News Corp. plan to purchase the whole company for $5 billion. He wrote, “Both large shareholders of the DJ and the employees who breathe life into these important objective ‘news assets’ have indicated that the DJ and its consumer base is best served if the DJ is independent and not being assimilated and absorbed under a pre-existing major media conglomerate.”
He later added that he “will provide capital infusion of $250 million to supercharge online/broadcast/satellite/cable initiatives which have clear growth opportunities in highly lucrative and fast-growing markets.”
Greenspan “will provide injection of knowledge via minority board participation along with hands-on assistance for online/digital strategies to help unlock significantly undervalued and unappreciated DJ-held assets by the public marketplace,” according to his letter.
Fox Biz Network will be successful — with or without Dow Jones
by Chris Roush
Motley Fool contributing writer Rick Munarriz writes Thursday that the new Fox Business Network will be successful with or without the help of Dow Jones & Co., the parent of The Wall Street Journal, which its parent News Corp. wants to buy for $5 billion.
“With smaller properties such as TheStreet.com seemingly chummy with CNBC and Thomson in the process of acquiring Reuters, Dow Jones is the perfect, eligible fit in News Corp.’s master plan of broader business coverage.
“With FBN’s debut now just three months away, it seems as if Fox — guided by former CNBC star Neil Cavuto — has no problem going it alone.”
Read more here.  Â