News Corp. and Dow Jones have agreed on a plan to protect the editorial independence of the Wall Street Journal, Reuters is reporting. The Bancroft family, which controls 64% of Dow Jones shares, is currently being briefed on the agreement and has yet to approve.
The Financial Times reported last night that a Dow-Murdoch deal was close at hand after contentious bargaining by both sides yesterday and over the weekend.
The content of the agreement has not been released, but will likely fall somewhere between Murdoch’s arrangement with the Times of London and the initial proposal from Dow Jones that sought to create an autonomous, Bancroft-appointed board to hire the Journal’s publisher, executive editors and wire chiefs.
If this agreement is accepted by the Bancrofts, the talks will likely move to pricing. Currently, Murdoch is offering $60 per share ($5bn) with conflicting reports as to his willingness to increase the offer. If NewsCorp. and the Bancrofts can agree, it is likely that a deal will not be announced until at least next week.
Dow Jones, News Corp. Agree on Editorial Structure: Reuters [Reuters via CNBC]
Murdoch makes progress on WSJ [Financial Times]
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(Update) Breaking News: Rupert Murdoch and Dow Jones Agree On WSJ Editorial Structure
By Dealbreaker- Posted in:
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Breaking News: Rupert Murdoch and Dow Jones Agree On WSJ Editorial Structure
By DealbreakerCNBC and the Financial Times are reporting, more to come.
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Brinksmanship In News Corp’s Talks With Dow Jones
Also, The New York Times Has Mixed Feelings For Murdoch
By Dealbreaker 
The New York Times published its 3800-word investigation of Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp today, but it doesn’t contain any of the dealbreaking revelations we anticipated. In the “Murdochracy,” the Times reports, Murdoch avoids government regulation and generally gets what he wants through the potent cocktail of intimidation, lucrative private contracts for elected officials, campaign contributions and enormous lobbying budgets.
We remain convinced that the Times’ business section would love to see the NewsCorp.-Dow Jones deal go through, if only to watch the Wall Street Journal tabloidicized. Inset into the indignant larger story by the news department, business section reporters Richard Siklos and Andrew Ross Sorkin have a short piece reporting that, after a tempestuous weekend, the Dow Jones deal is closer to realization than ever before. The news section seems to think Murdoch is a manipulative, dangerous man while the business section just likes watching their rivals at the Journal sweat.
Yesterday, Murdoch drafted a letter withdrawing NewsCorp from negotiations after he found the Dow Jones proposal to ensure the Journal’s editorial independence “insulting,” the Journal reported. The letter was never sent and talks returned to normal late last night. Even if Dow Jones and NewsCorp can agree on the governance of the Journal, the Bancrofts still need to settle on a price, meaning these negotiations could go push into July. Bankers we spoke to said it was unlikely that Murdoch would increase his offer.
We’re dialing the Murdoch Meter back five points after the tumultuous weekend.
Murdoch Reaches Out for Even More [New York Times]
Dow Jones Deal Talks Intensify [Wall Street Journal]
a. Taller guy is teasing shorter guy about being vertically challenged: “I won’t process your trade until you hit my hand. Hit it; hit it; you can’t hit it ‘cause you’re so short!”
b. You can’t see it, but behind the camera, there’s another guy, and the three men are currently in the midst of one intense game of Monkey in the Middle.
c. “Sieg heil!”
d. “No, seriously, I switched over to Speed Stick and I’m telling you, no stains, no smells. It’s like I’m a new man.”
e. Guy just sunk the game-winning three in the first round of Trader Detritus Basketball (TDB)
f. Super Trader is about to take flight.
g. TRADE: a renowned non-traditional dance that uses the body and ordinary objects to create percussive physical theatre performance. (What’s the sound of someone stomping his foot and banging two Bloomberg terminals together? The sound of all that is good and pure in the world.)
Surely you can do better? Let us know.
Run on Wall Street Sends Dow Above 13,000 [NYT]
The Dow closed at over 13,000 yesterday and it’s all everyone can do not to send themselves into anaphylactic shock (except for John Thain—he actually did go into anaphylactic shock. You’ve got to read those labels, people, even non-peanut products “may contain trace nuts”). Our DB Senior Dow Correspondent’s response? “I can’t wait for the reaction when we go from 19,000 to 20,000, which at that point will be a mere 5% move — does anyone realize it is NOT A BIG DEAL anymore?? 1,000 point moves SHOULD happen up here! You’re killing me, Smalls!”
In other news, the graphics guy at the Wall Street Journal is just coming down from a serious acid trip:
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