Dow Jones Newsroom Integrity

Rupert Murdoch (NYSE:NWS)does some serious backroom negotiating with the Bancrofts (NYSE:DJ). We are led to believe that editorial integrity is the key issue. In the last 24 hours reports of a competing offer from General Electric (NYSE:GE) and Pearson PLC which may include the Bancrofts have been been grabbing public attention.

These breathless headlines lead us to believe its because the Bancrofts get to stay in the game in some way. (Is this really important to anyone other than the Bancrofts. They will not be able to keep up with additional capital requirements anyway.)

For most of the Bancrofts the investment is just that an investment. They are not truly involved in the day to day operations and do not wish to be. (Either from an editorial or business point of view.)

Continued involvement under both scenarios may provide a major disappointment to the Bancrofts. The Bancrofts are not culturally attuned to operating within the structure of partnership with savvy strong willed and well capitalized partners. Bancrofts and Six Sigma do not intersect as concepts.

Other media outlets continue to throw stones at the Murdoch newsroom integrity issue. Yes Murdoch may have some editorial agendas.

Consider this. The finance/investment world is an information seeking culture. If you lose money or are duped into a position because of less than adequate reporting or analysis the investor will remember. The consequences will be decreasing relevance as readership and subscriptions decline. The decline will correlate with increasing scorn. In a few cases vicious lawsuits and SEC investigations will be spawned.

Its not about the occasional op-ed piece or political bias on the editorial page. Readers and subscribers are looking for business and investment information. Too much disappointment provides the opportunity for the strategic alternatives. Brands can easily tumble. So Bancrofts and Murdochs and all others watch what you think you are wishing for. Your product is judged publicly minute by minute.