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Possible 2024 presidential candidate, billionaire Michael Bloomberg, owner of Bloomberg LP, is interested in acquiring the Wall Street Journal’s parent company Dow Jones or the Washington Post, news website Axios reported on Friday.
Such a merger would create a financial data and news giant, further bolstering the world’s 12th-richest man’s stronghold in the business and likely allowing his company to sell more Bloomberg Terminals, the main source of his revenue.
According to the Axios Bloomberg, whose net worth is estimated at $76.8 billion, sees Dow Jones, owned by News Corp and also a publisher of Barron’s and MarketWatch, as the ideal choice, according to the report, but would buy the Post if the Amazon.com founder Inc, Jeff Bezos, was interested in selling.
Neither Bloomberg nor Dow Jones have responded to the reports. However, a Washington Post spokesperson told Axios that the Post is “not for sale.”
Michael Bloomberg, with his net worth of more than $76 billion, believes that merging the Post or Dow with his namesake brand would create a news giant.
Bezos bought The Washington Post in 2013 for $250 million. However, following the recent flops at the newspaper, Axios reports that many are wondering just how invested the billionaire is in the iconic newspaper.
Just last week, a video of Post editor Fred Ryan casually announcing that the layoffs would come to the Post in 2023 during a company town hall was met with derision.
Ryan walked offstage as he was bombarded with questions. He told the audience that he would not turn the town hall into a ‘grievance session.’
The Washington Post Guild responded to Ryan, describing his refusal to take questions as “unacceptable” behavior “from any leader,” but “especially from the leader of a news organization whose core values include transparency and accountability.”
Just last week, a video of Washington Post editor Fred Ryan casually announcing that the layoffs would come to the Post in 2023 during a company town hall was met with derision.
In addition to the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones is also the parent of Barron’s and MarketWatch.
In the aftermath of that incident, an anonymous Washington Post staffer said CNN: ‘The mood is really gloomy. People are so furious right now. It is bad. just bad.
Among those who responded to the video was Donald Trump Jr., who said in a bizarre video rant “that it makes him fear for the ‘future of the country'” and asked if the parents of those affected “would call to complain” because their children did not receive a ‘participation medal’.
During the tirade, he backed editor Fred Ryan, who drew his own furious reaction, saying the journalist “ruined the paper” with his “woke nonsense.”
In October, Rupert Murdoch had started a process that could bring together his media empire, News Corp, and Fox Corp. Murdoch first bought the company for $5 billion, or $60 a share, in 2007. In 2019, the company posted revenue of $1.9 billion.
However, the proposal was met with strong opposition from several shareholders who say a combination alone would fail to realize News Corp’s full value and instead suggested a spin-off of the media company’s digital real estate business. or Dow Jones as an alternative to the merger.
Jeff Bezos bought the iconic newspaper in 2013, but the Amazon founder is believed to have lost interest in the brand.
Craig Huber, a media analyst at Huber Research Partners, said he would be “shocked” if Murdoch sold the Wall Street Journal and has probably told his family not to sell it either.
“The WSJ is a trophy property for the Murdoch family,” he said, adding that the speculation was likely the result of his plan to reunite his media empire.
After reports about the possible acquisition surfaced, NewsCorp shares rose nearly five percent to $18.08. Overall, the company’s shares fell 18 percent in 2022.
In August, sources familiar with the Washington Post’s finances said the new york times that The Post now has fewer than the three million digital subscribers it acclaimed in 2020, and that digital ad revenue fell to $70 million during the first half of 2022, a 15 percent decline from last year.
In the years after Bezos’ 2013 purchase of The Post, the company experienced a significant boom in business, with its newsroom doubling in size as it brought in hundreds of new journalists.
Sources say Ryan has been a controversial figure in the office, and many are concerned about his direction at the company.
They added that the publisher has been monitoring how many people enter the office after COVID restrictions were lifted and is now weighing threats to lay off those who continue to work from home.
Sources said Bezos had been a regular presence at The Post in the early years after buying the paper, but his visits have become rare after the COVID-19 shutdowns.
The newspaper’s editorship has fallen to Ryan, 67, a former Reagan administration official and chief executive of Politico.
The Washington Post saw its digital ad revenue fall to $70 million during the first half of 2022, a 15 percent decline from last year. Many are frustrated by the leadership of CEO Fred Ryan (left), who was appointed by billionaire Jeff Bezos (right).
Last year, sources said Ryan had an internal strategic review team with The Post’s top team. Several executives concluded that the newspaper should buy global rivals to expand its brand abroad.
Ryan, however, allegedly put the plan on the back burner, much to the frustration of The Post’s marketing team, sources told the Times.
The sources added that the newspaper hired a team of marketers for advertising purposes, but several ads never ran.
The alleged issue at The Post comes after several journalists covering the pandemic wrote a letter to Ryan about his attempt to crack down on working from home.
“Such decisions are extremely personal and consequential,” the letter said, “and we urge management to allow employees to make these decisions without fear of punishment from their employer.”
But while the newspaper enjoyed an increase in subscriptions and readership, things took a turn for the worse in early 2021, after Donald Trump left office.
The Post, which saw increased activity through its extensive coverage of the Trump administration, had trouble recovering once he left office, sources told the Times.
They said many have been frustrated by the leadership of Ryan, who was appointed by Bezos, for not expanding and diversifying the outlet’s coverage during that critical time.
Political analyst Chris Cillizza, 46, who has been covering national politics, the White House and Congress for the cable giant and who came to the network from The Washington Post in 2017, was one of those fired this week. week, Variety reported.
The cable news giant also removed all of HLN’s live programming, including longtime anchor Robin Meade, 53, who has been on the Atlanta-based morning show for more than 21 years. She was one of the highest paid presenters.
Chris Cillizza sent out a tweet on Thursday afternoon sharing the news with his peers.
Earlier this month, CNN announced major layoffs. Among the high-profile releases was political analyst Chris Cillizza, 46, who has been covering national politics, the White House and Congress for the cable giant since 2017, after coming to the network from The Washington Post. , was one of those who were fired. this week, Variety reported.
Cillizza tweeted Thursday afternoon, stating, ‘My time at CNN was an absolute blast. I have to work with smart and dedicated journalists every day,” she said.
In a memo, CNN CEO Chris Licht wrote, in part: “I know these changes affect both our colleagues who are leaving and those who are staying,” he said. And we have resources to support you.
The cable news giant also removed all live programming from HLN, including longtime anchor Robin Meade, 53, who has been on the Atlanta-based weekday morning show for more than 21 years. Her annual salary is estimated to be $3 million, making her one of the highest paid hosts in the business.
The layoffs were announced in this email sent by Licht on Wednesday.