Murdoch Wins Dow Jones: Now What?

Meanwhile, slightly less than half the family's voting power withheld support of the deal, reflecting concerns about Murdoch's past practices as a news publisher that have been well-documented in the pages of the newspaper he purchased and elsewhere.

Leslie Hill, a Bancroft family member who opposed the deal, resigned Tuesday as a Dow Jones director. In a letter to the board, she said the financial rewards from the deal would not compensate for "the loss of an independent global news organization with unmatched credibility and integrity."

While a majority of Dow Jones directors, including its CEO Rick Zannino, voted to support the deal in mid-July, Hill and Christopher Bancroft, another family dissenter, abstained from the vote.

"I am deeply gratified at the level of support we have received from the Bancroft family and its trustees," Murdoch said in a press release on Wednesday. "Given the Bancrofts' long and distinguished history as custodians of Dow Jones, we appreciate how difficult this decision was for some family members."

For Murdoch, the success of his bid marks the pinnacle in his long and illustrious career as a media baron. For him, commercial success and influence have gone hand in hand, and while Dow Jones will be a small piece of his media empire, the Journal marks his deepest foray into the territory of universally respected American journalism.

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