Rupert Murdoch does not, yet, officially own Dow Jones. But he clearly controls
it, all the same. Today, the day that Rupert’s new business channel launches
in head-to-head competition with CNBC, Dow Jones’s websites have decided to
all CNBC’s advertising. As Jeff Bercovici says,
A spokesman for Dow Jones, which owns both sites, declined to comment to
the Times on the decision, but if you suspect Rupert Murdoch of pulling the
levers on this one, award yourself a cookie.
Meanwhile, Brad DeLong is noting signs
of sense on the WSJ editiorial page, and ascribing that to Murdoch, too:
Most of it is Rupert Murdoch signalling that the Wall Street Journal editorial
page can now be rented: that it won’t be the knee-jerk slave of the Republican
extreme anymore, and that people who want its support (within reason) should
start offering him bids.
Brad doesn’t mean this literally, and he’s not talking about corporate lobbying,
he’s talking about politicians. Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers tend to support
those politicians who act in Rupert Murdoch’s best interests, and it’s possible
that the WSJ editorial page will move in that direction from its erstwhile wingnuttery.