Dow Jones Employees Take Stand against Murdoch Bid

Determined to keep one of the country's best newspapers from falling into the hands of tabloid king and Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch, reporters at the Wall Street Journal staged a half-day absence last week and continue to be outspoken in their opposition.

Members of IAPE Local 1096, part of The Newspaper Guild-CWA, took part in what the union calls "The Statement" on June 28 in New York and bureaus across the country, protesting consideration of Murdoch's bid to buy the paper's parent company, Dow Jones. After staying out all morning, they walked in together at their worksites at 2 p.m.

"Support was just about universal," IAPE leader said in a joint statement to members. "We believe that even a few people in management quietly found ways to be away from the office for the morning."

The action also called attention to the union's battle for a fair contract against company demands for rollbacks in both health care and pay. "At a time when Dow Jones is finding the resources to award golden parachutes to 135 top executives, it should not be seeking to eviscerate employees' health benefits and impose salary adjustments that amount to a pay cut," the union leaders said.

Several months ago, Murdoch's News Corp. made an unsolicited $5 billion offer for Dow Jones. The Bancroft family, which owns Dow Jones, initially told Murdoch it wasn't interested in selling but now appear on the verge of making a deal.

 "The Wall Street Journal's long tradition of independence, which has been the hallmark of our news coverage for decades, is threatened today," IAPE leaders said. "We, along with hundreds of other Dow Jones employees represented by the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees, want to demonstrate our conviction that the Journal's editorial integrity depends on an owner committed to journalistic independence."

TNG-CWA President Linda Foley said the solidarity of Journal workers will continue to make a critical difference at the paper, regardless of the outcome of the talks with Murdoch. "No matter who winds up owning Dow Jones and no matter who gets to decide to hire the editor of the Wall Street Journal, last week's 'stay out' demonstrates that the employees and IAPE control the newsrooms," Foley said.