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 NEW YORK (AP) - Rupert Murdoch is stepping up his campaign to woo the controlling shareholders of Dow Jones & Co., the Bancroft family, promising them a board seat on his media conglomerate, News Corp., as well as measures to ensure the independence of The Wall Street Journal.
Murdoch, in a letter to the Bancroft family dated May 11, promised to set up an independent editorial board for the Journal as he did with The Times of London, which would arbitrate any disputes between the editors and management. The board would also have to sign off on any decision to hire or fire the top two editors at the paper.
The Journal reported news of Murdoch's overture to the Bancrofts Monday on its Web site and also posted a text of the letter, which News Corp. spokesman Andrew Butcher confirmed to be accurate. A spokesman for the Bancroft family declined to comment.
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