Stop the presses! Are the Bancrofts going to put their money where their mouths are?

Nearly every time I've written about Rupert Murdoch's bid for the Dow Jones Co. (NYSE: DJ), I've said this: If the Bancrofts want to even think about rejecting his bid, they owe it to shareholders to come up with something better. Well according to Reuters, they actually might be doing just that: "General Electric Co. and Pearson Plc may challenge News Corp.'s $5 billion bid for Dow Jones & Co., with a plan that could let Dow Jones's controlling family to keep an interest in the company, the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal reported on their Web sites on Sunday."

Reports suggest that the plan could allow the Bancrofts to keep a stake as high as 20%. If the reports are true, it's good to see that the Bancrofts are considering trying to find a "white knight" and retain their own financial stake in the company.

But you have to think that, if the company is sold, which it will be, Rupert Murdoch will win. He has deep pockets and has had his eye on the Journal for a long time. He came in with a big preemptive bid, and it's hard to imagine him letting someone else take it away from him.