Continue reading The logical buyer for Merrill's Bloomberg stake is Mike Bloomberg

The logical buyer for Merrill's Bloomberg stake is Mike Bloomberg originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Forbes magazine needs a good map or two.

The business magazine's article "America's Wildest Weather Cities" lists two places that don't exist. Blue Hill, Mass, dubbed the windiest city, is incorrectly described as a Boston suburb. Actually, there is a place called Blue Hill, The Blue Hill Reservation, a 7,000-acre state park that seems lovely. The Web site lists its address in Milton, Mass. There is no town named Blue Hill in the Boston area, according to the Greater Boston Convention and Vistors Bureau.

More embarrassing is the description of Springfield, Mississippi. I could find no town by that name in Mississippi although there is a Springfield Plantation near Natchez which reviewers on Yahoo Travel seemed to like. Even odder, though, was that Forbes describes Springfield as "a slightly elevated city in the Ozarks at 1,266 feet." As this helpful map on Wikipedia shows, the Ozarks don't go into Mississippi. Interestingly, there is a city in Missouri named Springfield that happens to be located at an elevation of 1,266 feet and is known as Queen of the Ozarks. Perhaps, Forbes was thinking of that Springfield or the one where the Simpsons reside.

Though I hate to spoil today's company holiday at Forbes, there is a bigger issue at stake here. In today's age of instant communication, readers need to be more skeptical now than they ever have been. Wrong information can be spread with an alarming speed.

Should Forbes have caught these errors before the story was published? Of course. But the news gathering and writing process isn't fool proof. Mistakes, though unfortunate, are unavoidable. No one is perfect.

But what separates journalists from people who just post stuff is how they deal with errors when they are pointed out. I've contacted the reporter who wrote the story and will let you know if I get a response.

Update: Forbes has corrected the errors.

Media World: Why Forbes needs a geography lesson originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Aug 2007 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If there is a bidding war for Dow Jones & Co. (NYSE: DJ) Rupert Murdoch's lust for power will trump the desire for profits from private equity players such as Blackstone Group LP, Texas Pacific Group or KKR, or any other potential bidders.

Shares of the New York-based financial information company have already soared past the insanely high unsolicited $60 per share offer the CEO of News Corp (NYSE: NWS) has made. Murdoch, though, has coveted the Wall Street Journal for years and would be willing to pay an even steeper price to turn his dream into reality. It wouldn't be a stretch for Murdoch to bid $65 or $70 to snap up Dow Jones.

Other potential buyers view Dow Jones as just a business while Murdoch is most interested in the company's ability to influence the public heading into a presidential election. He is an uneconomical bidder who doesn't mind if some of his media properties lose a little money provided that they further his political agenda.

To be sure, there are some sound economic reasons for a merger between Dow Jones and News Corp. The Journal could certainly give a boost to the nascent Fox business news channel. Though Dow Jones has gotten better under CEO Rich Zannino, the company was mismanaged for years, so there are no doubt still cost savings to be had.

But many questions are yet to be answered.

Would Murdoch -- who has vowed not to interfere with the Journal's news coverage -- keep that promise for other Dow Jones properties? What would become of MarketWatch, Barron's and Dow Jones Newswires? Would WSJ.com remain a subscription service?

Continue reading Media World: Rupert Murdoch will raise his insane offer for Dow Jones

Media World: Rupert Murdoch will raise his insane offer for Dow Jones originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.