Rupert Murdoch was originally rebuffed in his bid for Dow Jones by the Bancroft family, which had controlled the storied newspaper publisher for more than a century. A union representing Journal employees also opposed him, as did former board member and shareholder Jim Ottaway Jr., citing concerns about preserving the Journal's editorial independence and quality.
But after several months of campaigning this summer, Murdoch was able to win over enough of the fractious Bancroft family to ensure the success of his bid, which values Dow Jones at more than $5 billion. News Corp. also agreed to set up an oversight board tasked with ensuring the Journal's editorial independence.
The $60 per-share price that Murdoch offered represented a huge premium of 65 percent over the price that Dow Jones shares were trading at just prior the offer becoming public. No other bidders came forward at that price.
Murdoch has said the Journal has huge potential for growth thanks to the booming demand for business news and information around the globe. He has also said he wants to compete more aggressively with The New York Times for national readers and advertisers, while beefing up the Journal's Washington reporting, overseas and online operations.
As publisher, Thomson will oversee the Journal's editorial operations, and the Journal's managing editor Marcus Brauchli will report to him. At The Times of London, Thomson will be succeeded by James Harding, business and city editor of the paper.
Murdoch has frequently mentioned the possibility of making the Journal's Web site free or partially free in an effort to capture more online advertising. The Journal has been the only newspaper to succeed in building a large base of paying customers, which currently stands at about 1 million.
Murdoch has said he believes any losses in subscription revenues would be more than outweighed by gains in advertising. The New York Times recently abandoned an effort to charge subscription fees for some premium material on its Web site, citing the same reason.
Even before officially taking the reins of Dow Jones, Murdoch has made his presence felt in other ways as well. In late November the company said it would look for a buyer for its remaining six community newspapers, and also said it would expand the distribution of a new glossy magazine called Pursuits globally, instead of just in the United States as originally planned.