The board of directors of Dow Jones said late Tuesday night that itw as “prepared to approve” a buyout offer from Rupert Murdoch, which would give the conservative press baron control of The Wall Street Journal.
Fine, but the real news is that Al Gore says Murdoch is a man of his word who supports independent voices, according to The New York Times.
It’s not often that the Times buries a lead, but this is one of them. The newspaper acknowledged that Gore’s support is an “unlikely endorsement,” but put it at the very end of its main Murdoch-Dow Jones story, posted to its Web site late Tuesday night.
The story noted Gore’s past opposition to media consolidation by companies like Murdoch’s, ” . . .but on the question of his openness to independent points of view, I want you to know that my experience has been that when he gave his word, he kept his word,” the former vice president told the Times.
The comments were in reference to the future editorial independence of the Journal if Murdoch were to take control. Murdoch has said he would not interfere with news decisions. That has been a major issue in negotiations between Murdoch, Dow Jones and the Bancroft family, which controls a majority of DJ shareholder votes.
Maybe Gore is just empathizing with a fellow media big wig. Gore is the chairman of Current TV, a director of Apple, a senior advisor to Google and a movie star as narrator/host of “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Or, maybe, he is really thinking about running for president again. When’s the last time the Wall Street Journal endorsed a Democrat for the White House?
On the web
Dow Jones Issues Statement – CNN
Dow Jones Board Reaches Deal With Murdoch – New York Times