Decline and Fall

I woke up this morning wondering how long it would it would take to see the effects of Rupert Murdoch’s acquisition of The Wall Street Journal. I didn’t have long to wait.

When I opened my front door, my Journal was not waiting for me right next to the door where it always is. My heart sunk. What, no paper?

Then I found it. It was on the third step, just far enough down so I couldn’t see it from the door.

What’s next, Rupert? The second step? The first step? The sidewalk? The shrubbery? Clearly, the decline and fall of a great newspaper has begun. And I blame it all on Rupert.

-TOM LINTHICUM, Executive Editor

Not so fast, Rupert!

Before the ink on the contracts had dried and long before journalism’s purists stopped gnashing their teeth, word came Wednesday from the Federal Communications Commission that Rupert Murdoch’s purchase of The Wall Street Journal is still not a done deal.

Commissioner Michael J. Copps — not to be confused with 1980s television icon Michael J. Fox — issued a statement saying the deal needs to be reviewed by the FCC.

“This deal means more media consolidation and fewer independent voices, and it specifically impacts the local market in New York City,” Copp wrote.

He added, much to the delight of those decrying the purchase as a sign of the apocalypse, “What's good for shareholders of huge media conglomerates isn't always what's good for the public interest or our civic dialogue.”

Speaking of civic dialogue, what do you think?

-LOUIS LLOVIO, Daily Record Business Writer