Natalie Bancroft, a 27-year-old opera singer who lives in Europe and has little exposure to the worlds of journalism and commerce, is the hand-picked family representative for the Bancrofts on the board of News Corp (NYSE: NWS), according to the Wall Street Journal.
How did this happen? The family couldn't agree on someone who would take it and be acceptable to Rupert Murdoch. They missed the deadline, and Murdoch picked someone he knew didn't have a strong background to defend Dow Jones' (NYSE: DJ) interest when he gobbles it up.
I thought it was a dark day when the Bancroft family decided to sell Dow Jones to Murdoch, but this makes the situation even darker. It will be sad to watch the remaking of what is one of the world's greatest financial news empires in Murdoch's image. Murdoch's reputation for driving his newspapers toward yellow journalism so that he can sell more papers certainly will not be good for the solid reputation of the Wall Street Journal or any of Dow Jones' well-respected publications.
I was hoping the family would at least have some say about the Journal's future on the News Corp board, but this choice does not offer a strong voice for financial journalism. I still have my subscription, but I wonder how long I'll continue that once Murdoch does his thing. Will you keep your subscription?
Lita Epstein has written more than 20 books including "Trading for Dummies" and "Reading Financial Reports for Dummies."
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