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Murdoch nears `WSJ' deal with editorial accord

"The nuts and bolts are there, but not all the details."

a person familiar with the talks

Negotiators reached an agreement in principle on Tuesday on protecting the editorial independence of the Wall Street Journal, an important step toward a purchase by News Corp of the WSJ's owner, Dow Jones & Co, people briefed on the talks said.

That clears the way for discussion of the price that the News Corp would pay, a matter that has so far taken a back seat to the question of how much control the company and its chairman, Rupert Murdoch, will have over the pages of the WSJ.

The tentative agreement includes a framework for selecting the top editors at the paper. But people familiar with the talks cautioned that several pieces of the accord remain sketchy, not yet written, and some people said they were reluctant even to call it an agreement yet.

"The nuts and bolts are there, but not all the details," said one of those people, all of whom insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the continuing talks.

The terms on editorial independence, worked out primarily by lawyers and bankers for the two sides, have been disclosed to members of a special negotiating committee of the Dow Jones board. But people close to the talks said the agreement has not yet been described to the whole board or to more than a handful of the Bancrofts, if that many.

It was not clear how the current accord differed from the conditions laid down last week by the Bancroft family, owners of a controlling interest in Dow Jones -- terms that Murdoch dismissed as unacceptable. Nor was it clear whether the family, which has veto power over any deal, would accept the changes.

The elder Bancrofts, who control most of the stock, have deep reservations about parting with a company that has been in the family since 1902, and a newspaper they revere. In particular, many of them are reluctant to sell to a company whose journalism they see as sensationalist and slanted to suit Murdoch's business interests and right-wing politics.

But News Corp's US$60-a-share offer, a 67 percent premium to the stock price before the bid became public knowledge, and Dow Jones' uncertain prospects if it continues on its own, have pushed the Bancrofts closer to a sale.

The only other offer on the table is a partial bid made by Brad Greenspan, an Internet entrepreneur. Greenspan will reportedly meet with representatives of Merrill Lynch, financial advisers to the Bancrofts, and Goldman Sachs, advisers to Dow Jones, this week.
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