Nine Questions, Post Dow Jones Sale

Well, it appears almost wrapped up. Rupert took his position, offered his price, and alternated between petulance and bonhomie in playing the DJ board and Bancrofts like the fine fiddler he is.

So, if the deal gets done done, let's begin to sort out what it means going forward. (And happy to adjust, should Christopher Bancrofts' Hail Mary seize the historic moment.)

Nine questions for now; what's yours?

1) When the next Oscar nominations get announced, will Ron Burkle get one for Best Continuing Cameo in Newspaper Negotiations? Post-Knight Ridder, Post-Tribune, Post-Dow Jones, what are we to make of his late-to-the-dance, always a down-the-line bridesmaid act?

2) Doesn't this tell us that the day of the standalone newspaper company is coming to an end? Gannett's the biggest U.S. daily newspaper company, and its market cap is a puny $13 billion. That seems paltry in days of such players' heft as News Corp's $23 billion, Google's $168 billion, Comcast's $59 billion and Disney's (ABC, ESPN+) $68 billion, Dow Jones pre-bid cap of $3 billion or so just seemed so small when the board and the Bancrofts saw the Powerpoints that pushed them to sell.

3) What plum job is in Clare Hart's future? She's the clearest and highest-profile voice of how information players need to adapt their B2B businesses in the Internet age. Assuming Rupert sells off the Factiva business (he's a B2C kind of guy), will she tumble to a post with current competitors like Reed Elsevier or the new Thomson Reuters, or maybe become a Googleite?

4) Whither Brad Greenspan? His oddball offer for 25% of the company stirred interest, but hasn't gone anywhere. And who were his mysterious backers? If he's serious about saving serious, independent journalism, he should have plenty of other opportunities.

5) With Knight Ridder, Tribune and Dow Jones all picked off, what does this mean for Gannett? Its newspaper portfolio is performing a tad better than the industry -- given its smaller markets -- but its minor diversification is in broadcast, which itself is fairly mature. Do investors think they can better maximize their value by pushing for a sale or have the tepid KR and Tribune sales taught them a lesson?

6) What's News Corp's ad play, post sale? It’s building an impressive portfolio with MySpace, IGN, Dow Jones and most importantly know-how in the fast-growing online ad space. Will it centralize operations, finding synergy that transcends -- and incorporates -- its disparate audiences? It bought start-up Strategic Data Corporation, and we can expect to see more such plays.

7) So can you imagine the Journal's storied editorial page turning leftward (!?!) and endorsing Friend of Rupert Hillary for Prez?

8) Can we expect to see a major play to team up Dow Jones content with a Yahoo Finance, an MSN Money or a Google Finance, reminiscent of the deal Rupert pulled off early on with Google to finance his MySpace purchase?

9) When will the new "independent" editorial board hear its first case, and will News Corp mouthpiece Gary Ginsberg say that the very issue is "insulting" to the proud tradition of News Corp editorial independence?

Comments

[Gene Wiley]

It is hilarious (Being in the stock business) and reading your guys take on all this. Yeah, I don't know jack about writing - but you boys, my, what rube's and rookies you are at business. You have no idea what REALLY goes on. Your not even close. Your confidence in your own knowledge is way overestimated (BY YOU) and your petulance and silliness just makes me laugh. Quite amusing. Your watching the parade, but you don't know how it's put together, and what it REALLY takes to make go. Part of the reasons dumb newspapers (NYT) are sucking eggs and the smart outfits (WPO) are thriving. Can you even tell the difference? I doubt it. Rupe is laughing at you all. Of course, when fighting people with little backbone and no business knowledge, well, that is sure fun.

Gene Wiley