Newsroom: Media Ownership

For Immediate Release

Washington, DC—Consumers Union today expressed disappointment in the announcement that the majority of the Bancroft family will support Rupert Murdoch's bid for Dow Jones and Co., the corporation that owns The Wall Street Journal. The decision will likely result in Murdoch—owner of the Fox Broadcasting Company and Fox News cable channel—owning Dow Jones and its prime newspaper, The Wall Street Journal.

"Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal are just feathers in Murdoch’s cap –but signal a disturbing trend for consumers who rely on media to be independent and diverse sources for news and information," said Gene Kimmelman, vice president for federal and international policy for Consumers Union.

"The sale of Dow Jones raises enormous concerns about the state of independent, competitive sources of high-quality journalism," added Kimmelman. "Murdoch’s track record of interfering and politicizing professional journalism is well-documented—we only need look at Fox News Channel and the New York Post to see his fingerprints interfering with content of meaningful, independent, journalism."

Consumers Union has been an adamant supporter of greater limits on media ownership, arguing that a diverse and independent media provides needed checks and balances fundamental to a strong democracy which is dependent on many points of view in a timely fashion.

"The merger of Murdoch’s News Corporation and Dow Jones is just another example of media conglomerates dominating the media’s message. The FCC is now in the process of rewriting its media ownership rules and today released biased research favoring more media consolidation. This is highly disturbing. The FCC must recognize the importance of limiting the media giants’ unprecedented reach when it considers the media ownership rules. An open and robust media is essential to our democracy," added Kimmelman.

Click here to read more about the media ownership reports released by the FCC.

Contact: Jennifer Fuson (202) 462-6262

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