Dow Jones Union Hires Advisors to Seek Alternatives to Murdoch Bid

By: Jennifer Saba Similar to the move the Newspaper Guild of America made when Knight Ridder went on the block in November 2005, the union representing Dow Jones & Co. has retained financial advisors to look for alternatives to the News Corp. bid for Dow Jones.

The Independent Association of Publishers' Employees (IAPE) has tapped Ownership Associates -- the same Cambridge, Mass., firm that represented the newspaper guild in its attempts to find a buyer for Knight Ridder. The Newspaper Guild and the Communications Workers of America are involved in helping the IAPE find potential backers for Dow Jones other than News Corp.

In the case of Knight Ridder, the guild, backed by Ronald Burkle?s private investment firm the Yucaipa Companies, attempted to bid for parts of the company -- including the 12 papers divested by winner McClatchy. It failed, obviously.

The IAPE said in a statement that follows that representatives have already reached out to potential investors. it follows.

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The Independent Association of Publishers' Employees (IAPE), the union that represents more than 2,000 employees of Dow Jones & Company, has retained advisors to explore alternatives to the proposed News Corp bid for Dow Jones & Company and its flagship publication, The Wall Street Journal.

IAPE believes that the best safeguard to the independence and integrity of Dow Jones would be the continued stewardship of the Bancroft Family, but if the Family is persuaded that a sale of Dow Jones is necessary, IAPE believes that there are alternatives to Mr. Murdoch. We are hopeful that the Bancroft Family, with its long- standing commitment to the integrity of Dow Jones, will consider these alternatives.

Working with our advisors, Ownership Associates of Cambridge, Massachusetts and with the resources of our affiliate union organizations, the Newspaper Guild and the Communications Workers of America, IAPE has begun reaching out to substantial investors that we believe could serve as partners in our effort to maintain the editorial independence of Dow Jones & Company and preserve the unquestioned journalistic integrity of all of its publications and products.

The Newspaper Guild-CWA represents 35,000 workers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, and CWA overall represents 700,000 workers in telecom, IT, journalism, broadcasting, manufacturing, airlines and other sectors.