THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY.MAY 2.2007
NEWS
5A
NEWS CORP.
Sale of Dow Jones doubtful
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. offered to buy Dow Jones & Co. for $5 billion, but the deal, which would add The Wall Street Journal to Murdoch's global media empire, faces doubtful prospects since Dow Jones' controlling shareholders said Tuesday they would vote against it.
Clinching ownership of The Wall Street Journal would mark a huge coup for the 76-year old media mogul, landing Murdoch the most authoritative voice in the world of business journalism as well as key know-how and personnel as News Corp.gears up to launch a business-oriented cable news channel to rival CNBC, which first broke news of the proposal earlier Tuesday.
The offer of $60 per share represents a huge premium of about 65 percent over Dow Jones' closing share price on Monday. However, Dow Jones said late Tuesday that the Bancroft family, the company's controlling shareholders, said they would vote shares representing just over 50 percent of the company's voting power against the deal.
That leaves Murdoch with the
"Mr. Murdoch has shown a willingness to crush quality and independence, and there is no reason to think he would handle Dow Jones or the Journal any differently," the union said. "Despite our differences of opinion with current management, we strongly encourage the Bancrofts to continue to stand up for the institution's independence, and to walk away from this offer."
The union representing Dow Jones employees, the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees, was harshly critical of the prospect of being owned by Murdoch and issued a statement saying that the bid was opposed by the staff "from top to bottom"
option of making a sweeter offer, or it could open the door to other bidders. When informed of the Bancroft's opposition to his proposal during a live interview with Neil Cavuto on Fox News Channel, which is owned by News Corp., Murdoch said he hoped they would think about the offer, and that his company would be "great guardians" of the stored newspaper, "There's plenty of time," he said.
$56.20 in very heavy volume on the New York Stock Exchange after reaching as high as $58.47. They had traded in a 52-week range of $32.16 to $40.08 before Tuesday's news. News Corp. shares fell $1.01, or 4.2 percent, to $22.99.
Like several other newspaper owners, Dow Jones is controlled by a family through a special class of stock. But unlike the Grahams at The Washington Post Co., or the Sulzbergers at the New York Times Co., the Bancrofts do not have an active hand in running the company.
Dow Jones' shares shot up
$19.87, or 54.7 percent, to close at
The company raised the ire of shareholder advocates two years ago by making changes to its rules that would allow the Bancroft family to maintain voting control even if they liquidate part of their holdings. According to Dow Jones' most recent proxy statement, the family owns 24.7 percent of the economic interest in the company and controls 64.2 percent of the vote.
News Corp.'s main businesses are now in television and entertainment, including Fox News Channel, Fox broadcast network and Twentieth Century Fox movie studio.
ENTERTAINMENT
Stuart Ramson/Associated Press
R. Kelly, an R&B singer and songwriter, has written a new song, "Rise Up" about healing in the aftermath of the massacre at Virginia Tech, and is donating proceeds from the sale of the single to the Blacksburg, Va., school's memorial fund. "Rise Up" will be available digitally on May 15 and 100 percent of the net proceeds from its sale will go to the fund, according to Jive Records.
R.Kelly writes song for Virginia Tech
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — R. Kelly has written a new song, "Rise Up," about healing in the aftermath of the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech. A gunman killed 32 people and himself on the university's campus in Blacksburg, Va.
"Rise Up" will be available digitally May 15, and 100 percent of the net proceeds from its sale will go to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, said Jive Records, Kelly's record label.
Kelly, 40, wrote the inspirational ballad after watching the events unfold on television while he was on route to a performance, Jive said.
The Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund was created to provide assistance to the victims of the families, as well as grief counseling and other needs for those affected by the shootings.
The lyrics include the lines: "Rise up, when you feel you can't go on, rise up, and all of your hope is gone, rise up, when you're weak and you can't be strong."
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》 U.S. CONGRESS
Bush vetoes plan to leave Iraq
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — President Bush vetoed legislation to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq Tuesday night in a historic showdown with Congress over whether the unpopular and costly war should end or escalate.
It was a day of high political drama, falling on the fourth anniversary of Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech declaring that major combat operations had ended in Iraq.
In only the second veto of his presidency, Bush rejected legislation pushed by Democratic leaders that would require the first U.S. combat troops to be withdrawn by Oct. 1 with a goal of a complete pullout six months later.
"This is a prescription for chaos and confusion and we must not impose it on our troops," Bush said in a nationally broadcast statement from the White House. He said the bill would "mandate a rigid and artificial deadline" for troop pullouts, and "it makes no sense to tell the enemy when you plan to start withdrawing."
President Bush talks at the Cross Hall of the White House on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., after he vetoed legislation to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq in a historic showdown with Congress over whether the unpopular and costly war should end or escalate.
Evan Vucci/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Democrats accused Bush of ignoring Americans' desire to stop the war, which has claimed the lives of more than 3,350 members of the military.
"The president wants a blank check," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., moments after Bush's appearance. "The Congress is not going to give it to him." She said lawmakers would work with him to find common ground but added that there was "great distance" between them on Iraq.
The legislation amounted to a rare rebuke of a wartime president and an assertion by Democrats that Congress must play a major role in Iraq and the extent of U.S. involvement.
"If the president thinks by vetoing this bill, he'll stop us from working to change the direction of the war in
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Bush has an obligation to explain his plan for responsibly ending the war.
Iraq, he is mistaken," Reid said.
Lacking the votes to override the president, Democrats have already signaled they intend to approve a replacement bill stripped of the troop withdrawal timetable. Determined to challenge Bush's policy, they are turning their attention to setting goals for the Iraqi government to meet as it struggles to establish a more secure, democratic society.
The White House and congressional Republicans have also called for so-called benchmarks, but only if they don't mandate a troop withdrawal or some other major change in war policy.
Bush will meet with congressional leaders — Democrats and Republicans alike — on Wednesday to discuss new legislation.
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