We figure its time for another installment of the ongoing saga of Rupert Murdoch and his bid to purchase Dow Jones. Currently, the state of play might best be summed up thusly:
Back in February of 2006, the popular urban legends site Snopes confirmed the veracity of the rumor that some users of the drug clomipramine may experience an unusual medical side effect: the act of yawning may induce orgasm. For this reason, we recommend users of clomipramine follow this story very closely.
For the rest: here's today's news. Some members of the Bancroft family--the older members who largely have controlling interest--continue to maintain that they will not sell to Murdoch. Most notably, Dow Jones director Christopher Bancroft, who tells the Wall Street Journal today that he's received letters from many Journal reporters who don't want Murdoch to take over, and that their outpouring has "left him emotionally moved." Why, it could be that the very reporters reporting on the reporters in the report were among the people who reportedly established this rapport with the subject of their reportage.
See how we made our own fun there?
Elsewhere the Wall Street Journal (re-)reports that divisions remain within the Bancroft family over what to do.
While some Bancrofts, especially younger ones, are open to exploring other alternatives, the family is far from reaching a consensus on what course to take, according to people familiar with the matter.
"People familiar with the matter?" At the Journal, couldn't this mean just about anybody?
Of course, it doesn't necessarily follow that the divisions within the Bancroft family over how to proceed translate to a scenario in which members of the family start backing Murdoch. It only means that not every member of the family is in agreement with every other member. This is vital news to anyone who has not had any experience being part of a family, and who, in addition, has never read the opening line to Anna Karenina.
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Key Dow Jones Holder Cites Opposition To Murdoch Bid [Wall Street Journal]