Focus on Creative Talent
The potential acquisition of the Wall Street Journal & the other Dow Jones assets by Rupert Murdoch and News Corp has been covered extensively by the press. It has been fascinating to watch from the “sidelines” the issues of editorial independence and its future play out between the many members of the Bancroft extended family and Mr. Murdoch. It has caused me to reflect on how the best media organizations manage creative talent.
In the ’80’s the network news organizations had similar concerns, as ABC, CBS & NBC , went into “play” and their long time owners came to be replaced by Capital Cities, Loews & GE. I was fortunate enough to be at ABC when it was acquired by Capital Cities & was able to watch the different approach to managing talent’s concerns during the transition of ownership. The team of Tom Murphy & Dan Burke were received very differently than Larry Tisch. They went out of their way to assure the creative & on air talent, while the cost base of the business needed to be changed that they held them in high regard and valued their contribution. While there were cutbacks at all three networks, the Capital Cities approach resulted in their being able to retain the talent that they desired, with much less acrimony than was played out at CBS. I realized then that to deliver long term positive growth the ceo needed to involve themselves in a positive way, even during difficult transitions to make certain that both the creative team & the business team felt that they had a significant contribution to make to the enterprise’s long term health and growth. In the long run talent nurture, develop , and extend brands that are the real assets of media companies.
I believe that Mr. Murdoch has learned this lesson as well , during the course of his career & has the understanding and vision to keep the Wall Street Journal’s integrity intact, while he develops a global growth plan for these unique assests.