How Murdoch Covers Murdoch

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2011/07/how-murdoch-covers-murdoch

All my good contrarian and news instincts (one and the same instinct, actually) want me to rise to the defense of Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. as they are embattled and under attack rather than piling on with the herd that is attacking them. But whoever is editing the Wall Street Journal's coverage of the News of the World affair isn't exactly making it easy. Take this paragraph:

Analysts said the closure of News of the World would have a trivial impact on News Corp.'s finances. The paper accounts for significantly less than half of News Corp.'s U.K. publishing operations, which are valued at about $1.3 billion, or 2.8% of News Corp.'s current market cap, according to a person familiar with the matter. News Corp. shares rose almost 2% on the Nasdaq Stock Market Thursday before finishing at $17.43, down four cents.

It's not so often that the Journal covers the stock price of a company in mid-scandal by focusing on what happens to a stock during the session rather than on just the closing price. And it's even less often that the Journal mentions such price swings without putting them in the context of what happened to the stock market overall, or at least the stocks in that sector, in the same session. NWSA closed down on a day when CBS, Viacom, New York Times, and Time Warner shares all closed up.

by Ira Stoll  |  Jul 7, 2011 at 9:52 pm Related Topics:  Press receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list