But certainly the Rupert Murdoch newspaper empire has become a cause celebre. This summer we saw the hacking scandal which led to the closing down of the News of the World. Now, we're being told that the European edition of the Wall Street Journal has not exactly been a shining example of how a newspaper should be run.
They boosted their circulation numbers, on which advertising rates are based, by buying their own paper. No, they did not buy their papers directly; they gave the money to another company, which bought the papers; sometimes they were able to buy a copy of the European WSJ for the princely sum of one cent. The buyer would give the papers to students and others who attended conferences. We're not talking a few copies; last year the number sold in this way came to 41% of the total daily circulation and 16% of the total European circulation.
The company, Executive Learning Partnership (ELP), that bought the newspapers was paid off by favorable stories in the European WSJ. Interestingly, one of the partners of ELP is a former publisher of the newspaper.
The publisher of the European WSJ has resigned. The reason for his resignation was revealed the next day. And who revealed it? The Wall Street Journal, USA edition. While the publisher resignation was expected, a low-level employee was fired for being a "whistle blower" about this matter.
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