In my instant analysis of the Dow Jones acquisition by News Corp., published July 31, I promised to revisit my predictions once the deal was completed.
Well, the deal doesn't close until later this week, but already Rupert Murdoch may be confounding my prediction of "few immediate changes" to The Wall Street Journal. I did note Murdoch's age (76), his preference for British and Australian traditions of newspapering and the likelihood of his having some business moves at the ready for a property he has coveted for decades.
But he was a little ahead of my schedule with news last week that the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, Gordon Crovitz, and Dow Jones CEO Rich Zannino would be departing with News Corp. executive Les Hinton succeeding Zannino and Times of London editor Robert Thomson assuming the new role of editorial director of Dow Jones.
That still leaves open the question of whether we will see changes in the look and content of The Wall Street Journal within days or weeks. My thought was that it made sense to go slow and take care to avoid an Australian accent with a publication that has captured more than two million loyal and sophisticated American readers. But Murdoch is not afraid of bold moves that break some crockery (which helps explain why he is a multi-billionaire and I'm writing this blog).
I'm reminded too of an adage applied to newspapers and other ventures: "Beware of an old man in a hurry."
