Norman Pearlstine ‘Excited’ by a Rupert Murdoch Led Dow Jones
A Rupert Murdoch led News Corp. acquisition of Dow Jones represents an “exciting chapter” for Dow Jones itself and the entire field of business news, so believes Norman Pearlstine.
The former editor-in-chief of Time Inc. and twenty year plus veteran of The Wall Street Journal shared his excitement for Rupert Murdoch and the future of Dow Jones during his keynote yesterday at the ASBPE’s conference in New York City.
Why is Murdcoch spurring excitement for Pearlstine? First off, “he is the one executive these days that wants to invest in print” Pearlstine observed.
Why will a Murdoch led Dow Jones and Wall Street Journal bring excitement to journalism in general and business news in particular? It will be “fascinating” to watch Murdoch bet his own money on “expanding the model,” Pearlstine indicated.
Pearlstine underscored that the traditional media Murdoch has had the digital foresight to not only bet big on MySpace, but to foster a platform agnostic media delivery strategy as well.
Pearlstine looks to News Corp. to reinvigorate Dow Jones’ international efforts and for leadership in the FOX Business Channel in the works (which has already garnered 30 million subscribers, Pearlstine said).
Pearlstine speculated that News Corp. may launch a national edition of the New York Post by leveraging the excess printing capacity of the Wall Street Journal.
Pearlstine also noted, however, that Murdoch has “used his publications to advance the interests of news Copr. and himself.” The News Corp. litmus test going forward will be “how agressively he lets The Wall Street Journal cover Murdoch and Dow Jones,” Pearlstine said.
While Pearlstine sees prospects for a reinvigorated Wall Street Journal, he is less certain about the future of print media in general:
We are at the dawn of a new age of extraordinary transformation. No one can predict what will happen. Models that have been enormously successful are collapsing all around us.
Pearlstine now serves as Senior Advisor for Telecom & Media at The Carlyle Group private equity firm. The “turbulence” in the sector makes for a treacherous investment horizon.
James Attwood, Group Head:
The exhiliration of the tech/telecom boom became a false reality but we have now been seized by an equally false pessimism that is causing people to overlook real value in these markets.
Pearlstine is optimistic, however, because at least one person sees real value in print: Rupert Murdoch.
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