Good buy, Rupert

Ever since May 1 when Dow Jones, a media firm, let it be known that it had received an unsolicited acquisition proposal from News Corporation, opinion has been divided on a single issue: the motivation of Rupert Murdoch. There was never any doubt that Murdoch8217;s News Corp had made an exuberantly generous 5-billion bid for Dow Jones, primarily to gain ownership of its financial daily, The Wall Street Journal. But even by established anti-Murdoch standards, the outrage was particularly shrill. WSJ8217;s vocal and centre-left critics suddenly rallied to the self-appropriated cause of the Bancroft family, majority shareholders of Dow Jones. At risk, they shuddered, was WSJ8217;s editorial integrity, its combination of skilful reportage and unambiguous commentary. Even the largeness of the bid was offered as proof that something sinister was afoot: why else would a shrewd businessman like Murdoch offer a premium in excess of 60 per cent of the valuation of each share?

As is the case with all other conspiracy theories, Murdoch8217;s acquisition of Dow Jones 8212; made official on August 1 8212; may be dictated by more straightforward reasons. He has long been known to be on the hunt for a respected business newspaper. He bears a responsibility to his shareholders to make good on the new investment. And, by all accounts, his high bid for WSJ was motivated by a conviction that its business model was not taking apt note of 8216;new media8217; opportunities. The Dow Jones8217; business practices have, by every reckoning, not allowed the Journal to reap dividends from its exceptional, and much recognised, editorial standards.

At a time when the West has sounded the countdown to the death of the newspaper, Murdoch8217;s latest venture is valuable. It is a 5 billion bet on the medium by one of the most pugnacious business moguls of our times. It will also be interesting to watch his interventions in a quality journal at a juncture when survival projections disfavour the middlebrow segment. The financial returns 8212; or lack of them 8212; would be between him and his shareholders. How a newspaper that takes seriously its news and opinion pages updates itself, will be keenly tracked by all of us.