Is The Wall Street Journal the New Wal-Mart?
The recent push by FOX’s Rupert Murdoch to purchase The Wall Street Journal has drawn great press attention. Columnists, bloggers and pundits have said that Murdoch’s ascension to the head of The Journal and Dow Jones will lead to the further watering down of the American press. To that, I say that we have reached maximum water level. American media can only go up at this point and I think Rupert Murdoch won’t have a great effect on The Wall Street Journal.
Murdoch has reached his level of prominence through shrewd business decisions. His Fox News Network may be conservative and play to the fears of Americans but the Fox TV Network is incredibly crass and liberal (i.e. The Simpsons, Family Guy). These polar opposites work on the airwaves because: a) there are thousands of television stations, b) their audiences overlap but do not completely align with one another and c) Murdoch only gets involved to the point where his brand name won’t get hurt.
The Columbia Journalism Review published a discussion about Murdoch’s push for The Journal on August 1st. Their analysis is well-reasoned because it tells everyone to calm down. Whether you agree or disagree with Murdoch’s personal politics, you have to see the forest for the trees. The Wall Street Journal will only improve with Murdoch at the helm because he will allow editors and newspaper people to do enough independent work to keep quality high.


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