THE WSJ AND MURDOCH: A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

I think it's funny how concerned people are at The Wall Street Journal about losing their integrity under Rupert Murdoch's rule. Take, for example, this item from Studio Briefing ...

Paul E. Steiger, the former managing editor of The Wall Street Journal who oversaw the newspaper's coverage of the deal that resulted in Rupert Murdoch's News Corp taking over the Journal's parent company, Dow Jones, has told a convention in Miami that he feels "conflicted but hopeful" about the deal. Speaking to the Asian American Journalists Assn., Steiger said, "There is no question Rupert will be the boss." He indicated that he was well aware that Murdoch has used his media holdings in the past to further his business interests. Nevertheless, he said, "Any hint of that at The Wall Street Journal would destroy its value." There has been considerable speculation that Murdoch will use the Journal to boost the Fox Business Network, which is due to launch in October. Currently the Journal has an exclusive deal in place with rival CNBC that is not due to expire until 2012. The London Financial Times commented today (Monday): "Preparations for the channel are going ahead without taking Dow Jones into account ... but, longer term, it is assumed the deal was taken into Mr Murdoch's bid calculations."

It's interesting to me that nobody is really asking why Murdoch was so interested in buying the WSJ in the first place. Could it possibly be due to the fact that The Wall Street Journal editorial pages are the most right wing print in existence? Maybe all these folks worried about the publication's value should have thought about that when they were making it such a good fit for Fox News!