BREAKING: CNBC Reports Dow Jones Sale

CNBC reported a few minutes ago:

News Corp. to Succeed In Buying Dow Jones

… “It did come awfully close, in fact, closer than many had anticipated,” Faber said. “But at the end of the day, according to people who were working on this, a number of the Bancrofts who had been somewhat vocal in their opposition–Chris Bancroft for example–seemed suddenly at the realization that they were going to have to pay all these banking fees said ‘Wait a second. Hey, if you pay my fees, I’ll give you my vote.’ And that may have turned it.”

The Journal, meanwhile, reported that Bancroft members owning 32% of the voting stock have agreed to support Murdoch’s bid. One key holdout, a trust overseen by a Denver law firm
representing 9.1% of Dow Jones’s voting shares changed its mind and agreed to back the deal, the Journal said.

The Journal added that News Corp. has scheduled a board meeting for 4 p.m. this afternoon, while Dow Jones’s board is due to meet this evening… [MORE]

At the risk of sounding snooty: told ja so. (on July 6)

Courage.

UPDATE 1:22 PM PDT: The Wall Street Journal is now reporting it, as is The New York Times. (They’re the Number Two and Number Three largest newspapers in America, respectively, albeit not necessarily respectfully). The Numero Uno Paper, USA TODAY has yet to be heard from.

This may well be remembered as a very dark day in American journalism.

Were We Quoted in the Wall Street Journal?

Were we quoted in the Wall Street Journal?

From yesterday’s post, “BREAKING: CNBC Reports Dow Jones Sale“:

UPDATE 1:22 PM PDT: The Wall Street Journal is now reporting it, as is The New York Times. (They’re the Number Two and Number Three largest newspapers in America, respectively, albeit not necessarily respectfully). The Numero Uno Paper, USA TODAY has yet to be heard from.

This may well be remembered as a very dark day in American journalism.

And Here’s the WSJ’s report on their own sale:

Murdoch Wins His Bid for Dow Jones
Bancroft Family Agrees
To $5 Billion Offer
After Deal on Fees
A New Owner for Journal

By SARAH ELLISON and MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG
August 1, 2007 2:53 p.m.

… Opponents of the deal called it a dark day for journalism. Leslie Hill, a family member who opposed the deal, resigned as a Dow Jones director late Tuesday afternoon. In a letter to the board, she conceded the deal was a good one in financial terms, but said it failed to outweigh “the loss of an independent global news organization with unmatched credibility and integrity.” …

What say you? (To quote a Rightie blowhard who will probably shortly become a WSJ columnist).

Courage.

Brown Stuff, Rotating Blades

The Associated Press reports this breaking story:

Sunni Arab bloc quits Iraqi government
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SINAN SALAHEDDIN,
Associated Press
Wed Aug 1, 7:56 AM ET

BAGHDAD – Iraq’s largest Sunni Arab political bloc announced its withdrawal from the government Wednesday, undermining Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s efforts to seek reconciliation among the country’s rival factions.

Violence continued unabated, with 50 people killed and 60 wounded when a suicide attacker exploded a fuel truck near a gas station in western Baghdad. Another 17 died in a separate car bomb attack in a central region of the capital. The U.S. military announced the deaths of three American soldiers killed by a sophisticated, armor-piercing bomb….

Additional coverage: New York Times, National Public Radio, Reuters, and the Melbourne Herald Sun, owned by Murdoch, with the scariest headline:

Sunnis quit Iraqi cabinet as bombs rock Baghdad

Anyone with an IQ above Bush’s can tell that this is a bad thing.

How bad, time will tell. But BAD.

I must admit, I haven’t been keeping up, so: Is the Bush Administration still denying that there is a civil war in Iraq?

Courage.

The Write Stuff

I am officially a writer. Two things prove this.

The first is that I have, on my refrigerator, a PROFESSIONAL DISCOUNT ORDER FORM from Writer’s Digest Professional Services Division. The second is that I don’t subscribe.

Because Writer’s Digest is a wannabe magazine. They have to be.