Long controlled by the Bancroft family, the heirs to early owner Clarence Barron, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. put Dow Jones in play with his $5 billion bid last spring&mdash;58% above its then&ndash;market price. Murdoch has long coveted DJ's jewel in the crown, the<em> Wall Street Journal</em>. And while the Bancroft family split painfully over the decision, Murdoch eventually won out&mdash;and for his original offer, no less.http://www.newser.com/2008 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorThu, 28 Aug 2008 7:40:37 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/33772/optimism-sends-stocks-surging.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWall Street soared for the second straight day today, rallying in the last hour of trading after a rebound in financial stocks and optimism about private sector jobs helped investors brush off a sharp jump in oil prices. The Dow rose 186 points to 11,583.69, the S&P 500 advanced 21.06 to 1,284.26, and the Nasdaq rose 10.10 to 2,329.72.http://www.newser.com/story/33772/optimism-sends-stocks-surging.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 30 Jul 2008 15:53:32 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32820/demonizing-shorters-wont-save-the-likes-of-lehman.html?refid=rss_all_defaultShort-sellers have the power to utterly crush Lehman Brothers, as they did Bear Stearns, writes James Cramer in New York , but it's largely Lehman's own fault. Lehman shares much of the "mismanagement, arrogance and recklessness" that brought down Bear, Cramer opines in a piece that says excoriating short-selling hedge funds for running down Lehman stock, and accusing them of manipulation, misses the point.http://www.newser.com/story/32820/demonizing-shorters-wont-save-the-likes-of-lehman.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 18 Jul 2008 23:50:37 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32486/lehman-bros-pondering-privatization.html?refid=rss_all_defaultLehman Brothers’ CEO is considering ways for the company to privatize itself, the New York Post reports. The financial-services firm has seen its share price fall 79% this year—including 15% yesterday—and Richard Fuld is hoping to ward off bargain-hunters. "The idea is why sell to someone else at so cheap a price when they could buy themselves," a source said.http://www.newser.com/story/32486/lehman-bros-pondering-privatization.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 15 Jul 2008 10:01:37 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/28038/murdoch-names-thomson-new-journal-editor.html?refid=rss_all_defaultRupert Murdoch has named Wall Street Journal publisher Robert J. Thomson as its top editor, reports the New York Times . Thomson, whom Murdoch made publisher just five months ago, was previously the top editor of Murdoch's Times of London. His appointment is expected to speed the pace of change at the paper, in the wake of the resignation of former managing editor Marcus Brauchli, who was forced out last month.http://www.newser.com/story/28038/murdoch-names-thomson-new-journal-editor.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 20 May 2008 21:59:07 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/27000/journal-staff-uneasy-as-murdoch-era-rolls-on.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTensions are running high in the Wall Street Journal ’s newsroom, the New Republic reports, as staffers wonder just where this Murdoch thing is going. Managing editor Marcus Brauchli’s resignation still hangs heavy in the air. Murdoch pushed Brauchli to resign, and paid him millions to sign a non-disclosure agreement. “We're a business newspaper, so we know a sell-out when we see one,” one angry staffer said.http://www.newser.com/story/27000/journal-staff-uneasy-as-murdoch-era-rolls-on.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 09 May 2008 8:03:41 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/26251/cut-the-charade-let-rupert-have-his-way-with-journal.html?refid=rss_all_defaultLet’s stop kidding ourselves, Jack Shafer writes in Slate: Rupert Murdoch is seizing control of the Wall Street Journal , and we might as well be done with the “Special Committee” that was supposed to protect editorial independence. The Bancroft family insisted on the creation of the board, which then proved itself  "a set of high-paid flunkies" who sat on their hands as the paper’s top editor was forced out.http://www.newser.com/story/26251/cut-the-charade-let-rupert-have-his-way-with-journal.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 01 May 2008 10:26:30 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/26043/wsj-oversight-panel-slams-editors-ouster.html?refid=rss_all_defaultA committee formed to protect the editorial independence of the Wall Street Journal from Rupert Murdoch’s influence said today the solicited resignation of managing editor Macrus Brauchli violated an agreement with Murdoch's News Corporation, Reuters reports. The committee is supposed to review all high-level hirings and firings, but, as Brauchli opted to resign, it learned of his ouster only after the fact.http://www.newser.com/story/26043/wsj-oversight-panel-slams-editors-ouster.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 29 Apr 2008 16:50:29 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/25921/paid-off-and-gagged-wsj-honchos-betray-treasured-trust.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMore top Wall Street Journal execs have been spit out by the Murdoch machine, and the staff they leave behind is furious they’re leaving so quietly. Zipping their mouths was part of hefty severance packages, David Carr notes in the New York Times , and as the line evaporates between editorial standards and owner's whims, the protectors of journalistic independence are missing in action.http://www.newser.com/story/25921/paid-off-and-gagged-wsj-honchos-betray-treasured-trust.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 28 Apr 2008 13:06:02 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/25434/murdoch-calls-fcc-bluff-with-newsday-move.html?refid=rss_all_defaultRupert Murdoch is betting new federal standards limiting media ownership to one TV station and one newspaper (per market) won't keep him from buying a fifth New York outlet. The mogul has long held waivers to control media in excess of the rules, and he doesn't think recent enforcement pledges will stop him from winning permission to own Newsday , the Times reports.http://www.newser.com/story/25434/murdoch-calls-fcc-bluff-with-newsday-move.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 23 Apr 2008 16:15:30 CDT