Bancroft family members regret sale of Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch

[LynneSin]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/07/13/bancroft-family-members-regret-sale-of-wall-street-journal-to-rupert-murdoch/

Bancroft family members regret sale of Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch
A number of key members of the family which controlled The Wall Street Journal say they would not have agreed to sell the prestigious daily to Rupert Murdoch if they had been aware of News International's conduct in the phone-hacking scandal at the time of the deal.

"If I had known what I know now, I would have pushed harder against" the Murdoch bid, said Christopher Bancroft, a member of the family which controlled Dow Jones & Company, publishers of The Wall Street Journal. Bancroft said the breadth of allegations now on the public record "would have been more problematic for me. I probably would have held out." Bancroft had sole voting control of a trust that represented 13 percent of Dow Jones shares in 2007 and served on the Dow Jones Board.

Lisa Steele, another family member on the Board, said that "it would have been harder, if not impossible," to have accepted Murdoch's bid had the facts been known. "It's complicated," Steele said, and "there were so many factors" in weighing a sale. But she said "the ethics are clear to me -- what's been revealed, from what I've read in the Journal, is terrible; it may even be criminal."

File this one under "I told you so!"

[malaise]

1. The facts were known

They chose to ignore them

[daa]

16. +1

[reformist2]

2. Can you imagine if the scandal spread to the WSJ?

It's one thing to question the integrity of Fox News - it's already known to be slanted and probably corrupt. But an investigation of the WSJ could make even the most stalwart conservative question his beliefs.

[malaise]

8. Hello Hello - it has alrady spread

to the WSJ

[City Lights]

3. "No one could have predicted..." eom

[closeupready]

10. There we go.

+1

[Liberalynn]

4. Well that's nice

but "a day late and a dollar short" as they say.

[KharmaTrain]

5. And They're Crying All The Way To The Bank...

It's not as though the WSJ was a paragon of the "liberal media" prior to Murdoch buying it. This is the family that hired John Fund. I rest my case.

[rhett o rick]

6. File this under "bullshit". nm

[Ganja Ninja]

7. I just had to laugh when I heard this.

He owned FOX news! How much more do you need to know?

[closeupready]

9. Water under the bridge.

nt

[ret5hd]

12. Yes. We need to look forward, not behind.

[Snotcicles]

11. They may soon be able to do a bye-back at bargain prices. nt

[Mz Pip]

13. reminds me of that litle tale

of the snake and the mouse where the mouse gets the snake to carry it across the water then the snake it's him. "You knew I was a snake when you climbed on my back."

WSJ knew what they were dealing with. If they didn't they were completely incompetant and deserved what they got.

[abelenkpe]

14. G, really?

Not enough money to drown their regret?

[LiberalAndProud]

15. It's too bad that weren't concerned with journalistic integrity.

The lack of that quality was clear at the time of the sale. Phone hacking is no worse than outright lying, IMO. Bancroft family can take a flying leap. The only thing they care about is face. Truth has no place in their hierarchy of values.

[lpbk2713]

17. Yeah, right.

So they're saying didn't have any idea Murdoch was lower than pond scum
and that he would exploit the reputation of the WSJ to further his agenda?


Bull-fuggen-shit. Go count your money assholes and forget about trying
to convince anyone you are innocent babes in the woods.

[WinkyDink]

18. TFB.