Dow Jones and Co. is a business news publisher best known for its flagship newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, and the Dow Jones Industrial Index, whose fluctuating numbers have for decades been the most common shorthand for the state of the stock market.
The company was founded in 1882 by Charles Henry Dow, Edward Davis Jones and Charles Milford Bergstresser, who provided subscribers with daily handwritten bulletins of business news. The company, which is controlled by members of the Bancroft family, includes properties like Barron's, the Dow Jones Newswires and Marketwatch.
The company's profitability reached a peak during the dot-com boom, when high-end business-to-business advertising surged. In the years after the bust, the Journal's revenues fell sharply, and its stock price sagged.
In May 2007 Rupert Murdoch, who had long coveted the Journal, shocked the media world by offering $5 billion for the company, a premium of two-thirds over its current valuation. The Bancrofts, who had long viewed the paper's editorial independence as a public trust and Mr. Murdoch with disdain, initially appeared opposed to the bid. But after opening the door to discussions with Mr. Murdoch it quickly appeared that the family was sharply divided. And by the end of July Mr. Murdoch's News Corporation had its prize.
The formal handover was not to take place until mid-December, but by then Mr. Murdoch had already begun to make his mark, replacing the company's chief executive officer and the Journal's publisher. — Dec. 10, 2007
Highlights From the Archive
Murdoch Said to Have Plan for Shake-Up at Dow Jones
The departure of Richard F. Zannino, Dow Jones’s chief executive, was announced Thursday, a week before News Corporation is expected to take control of the company.
December 7, 2007BusinessNewsIn Murdoch’s Past, Clues to The Journal’s Future
Rupert Murdoch is likely to accept losses on The Wall Street Journal at first in order to win the long-term war.
August 1, 2007BusinessNews AnalysisHow the Bancrofts Decided to Talk With Murdoch
The shift from rejecting Rupert Murdoch’s bid for Dow Jones to agreeing to meet with him occurred in many small steps.
June 2, 2007BusinessNews
Dow Jones Says It Will Consider Options for Sale
The decision represents an about-face for both the company and Rupert Murdoch’s bid and could end more than a century of family ownership.
June 1, 2007BusinessNews
Rupert Murdoch Offers $5 Billion Bid for Dow Jones
The unsolicited offer could set in motion the kind of takeover saga that readers might find in The Wall Street Journal, the flagship publication of Dow Jones.
May 2, 2007BusinessNewsARTICLES ABOUT DOW JONES & COMPANY INC.
Discussion of a Fed Cut Only Stirs Up Concerns About a Weak Economy
Usually cheered by an impending rate cut, investors reacted to the Fed minutes with anxiety that the economy is heading toward a recession.
January 3, 2008News Corp. Completes Takeover of Dow Jones
Shareholders of Dow Jones & Company gave their blessing to a takeover by Rupert Murdoch’s global media empire, the News Corporation.
December 14, 2007
Remaking The Journal
Although Rupert Murdoch just completed his purchase of Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, on Thursday, his influence is already apparent.
December 12, 2007A.P. to Reorganize Work and Accent Multimedia
After a decade of watching newspapers and rival wire services shrink, The Associated Press is refitting itself to handle the 24-hour news cycle it helped create.
December 3, 2007Dow Jones Considers Selling 23 Papers
Dow Jones & Company, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, said Tuesday that it was considering the sale of the rest of the Ottaway community newspaper group.
November 28, 2007As Sale Nears, Dow Jones Reports a Steep Drop in Profit
The results were probably the last time that Dow Jones, which agreed to be sold to the News Corporation for $5 billion, would report earnings as a separate company.
October 19, 2007Dow Jones Drops CNBC Ads From Web Sites in Favor of Fox Links
Advertisements for Fox Business Network turned up exactly where CNBC had contracted for its ads to be.
October 16, 2007
Can Fox Win Its Frontal Assault Against CNBC?
Fox Business Network has made no secret that it intends to do in the realm of business news exactly what the Fox News Channel did in general news: conquer.
October 15, 2007Wall Street Journal to Add to Its Paying Conferences
In a move to make money and spread its brand, The Wall Street Journal plans to expand its conference franchise to several gatherings a year.
October 8, 2007Tentative Deal Reached With Union at Dow Jones
The main union representing employees at The Wall Street Journal and the newspaper’s parent have reached a tentative agreement on a three-year contract.
September 17, 2007SEARCH 606 ARTICLES ABOUT DOW JONES & COMPANY INC.:
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