The letter has it all – bold print, bullet points, and italics. It’s 1,200 words long. And it’s signed by billionaire Rupert Murdoch. That’s right – Murdoch’s most recent communication regarding a Dow Jones takeover has been published by The Wall Street Journal, a Dow Jones property.
Which may not have been what the billionaire intended. “We are disappointed, as I imagine you are, that the details of our proposal and the discussion of the merits of a potential combination have become a matter of public debate,” he wrote to the Bancroft family (which owns Dow Jones). Yet the letter was unfailingly courteous, and modesty ruled the day.