WSJsells out; I get out

This morning, it appears to be official - enough members of the Bankroft family have voted to approve the sale of The Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. It's all over but the paperwork now. In light of that, it was time for me to put up my nano-sized protest to the paper this morning.

I guess now's the time to write that I was a reluctant subscriber to the paper in the first place. Its blood-soaked editorial page was awfully hard to swallow, and while I was a subscriber, I largely ignored it. (For a flavor of just how bad the WSJ's editorial page is, go back in time to the idiotic, moronic, misguided and hateful pieces it did on Vince Foster, President Clinton's friend and legal adviser. Ultimately, those editorials played a small but notable role in Foster's suicide.)

Anyway, I became a subscriber because of the WSJ's first-rate reporting, but even that is not reason enough to remain a subscriber. Sooner or later (bet on sooner), the paper's quality and integrity will be eroded by Murdoch's meddling. It's not a question of will he meddle, it's a question of when. For solid proof of what Murdoch does to a publication, look no further than The New York Post, a paper the RM saved from bankruptcy, but also a paper that serves as a political tool to advance his right-wing agenda.

Anyway, here's the letter I wrote the WSJ's customer service this morning...

Dear Dow Jones:
Please immediately cancel my subscription and refund the remaining balance to my credit card.

With news of the impending sale of The Wall Street Journal to News Corp., my decision is easy - I will in no way support a Rupert Murdoch entity, if I can help it, and there are plenty of alternatives to the WSJ that Murdoch does not own where I can get my news. (Hello, New York Times)

Thanks for your prompt attention.

Sincerely,
RJ