Dow Jones & Company
Encyclopedia
Dow Jones & Company is an American publishing and financial information firm.
The company was founded in 1882 by three reporters: Charles Dow
, Edward Jones
, and Charles Bergstresser
. Like The New York Times
and the Washington Post, the company was in recent years publicly traded but privately controlled. The company was led by the Bancroft family
, which effectively controlled 64% of all voting stock, before being acquired by News Corporation
.
The company became a subsidiary of News Corporation after an extended takeover bid during 2007. It was reported on August 1, 2007 that the bid had been successful after an extended period of uncertainty about shareholder agreement. The transaction was completed on December 13, 2007. It was worth US$5 billion or $60 a share, giving NewsCorp control of The Wall Street Journal
and ending the Bancroft family's 105 years of ownership.
In 2010, the company sold 90% of Dow Jones Indexes
to the CME Group
, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average
.
, is a daily newspaper
in print and online covering business, financial national and international news and issues around the globe. It began publishing on July 8, 1889. Other editions of the Journal include:
Other consumer-oriented publications of Dow Jones include Barron's Magazine
, a weekly overview of the world economy and markets; MarketWatch.com, the online financial news site; and the consumer magazine SmartMoney
which was jointly owned with Hearst Corporation
until they sold their stakes to Dow Jones in March 2010.
The monthly journal Far Eastern Economic Review
closed in September 2009.
, Dow Jones Indexes, Dow Jones Client Solutions and Dow Jones Financial Information Services.
, a standalone resource for financial professionals with information about finance careers and the finance industry.
in the U.S. It produces two shows for commercial radio
, The Wall Street Journal Report on the Wall Street Journal Radio Network
and The Dow Jones Report.
-based CME Group in February 2010. A few of the most widely used include:
once effectively controlled the company class B shares, each with a voting power of ten regular shares, prior to its sale to News Corp. At one time, they controlled 64% of Dow Jones voting stock.
, led by Rupert Murdoch
, had made an unsolicited offer of $60 per share, or $5 billion, for Dow Jones. Stock was briefly halted for pending press release. The halt lasted under 10 minutes while CNBC was receiving data. It has been suggested that the buyout offer is related to Murdoch's new cable business news channel Fox Business that launched in 2007. The Dow Jones brand brings instant credibility to the project.
On June 6, 2007, CEO Brian Tierney of Philadelphia Media Holdings L.L.C., owning company of The Philadelphia Inquirer
, Philadelphia Daily News
, and Philly.com, went public in an article on Philly.com expressing interest in "joining with outside partners to buy Dow Jones." Tierney said, "We would participate as Philadelphia Media Holdings, along with other investors. We wouldn't do it alone."
In June, MySpace
founder Brad Greenspan
put forth a bid to buy 25% of the Dow for $60 a share, the same price per share as News Corporation's bid. Greenspan's offer was for $1.25 billion for 25% of the company.
On July 17, 2007, The Wall Street Journal, a unit of Dow Jones, reported that the company and News Corporation had agreed in principle on a US$5 billion takeover, that the offer would be put to the full Dow Jones board on the same evening in New York, and that the offer valued the company at 70% more than the company's market value.
of the company were: Christopher Bancroft, Lewis B. Campbell
, Michael Elefante, John Engler
, Harvey Golub
, Leslie Hill
, Irvine Hockaday, Peter Kann, David Li, M. Peter McPherson
(Chairman), Frank Newman, James Ottaway, Elizabeth Steele, and William Steere.
The company was founded in 1882 by three reporters: Charles Dow
Charles Dow
Charles Henry Dow was an American journalist who co-founded Dow Jones & Company with Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser....
, Edward Jones
Edward Jones (statistician)
Edward Davis Jones was a U.S. statistician, mostly known for being the "Jones" in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.A graduate of Worcester Academy in Worcester, MA, he co-founded the Dow Jones & Company in 1882 along with Charles Dow and Charles Bergstresser.He was not associated with Edward Jones...
, and Charles Bergstresser
Charles Bergstresser
Charles Milford Bergstresser was an American journalist and, with Charles Dow and Edward Jones, one of the founders of Dow Jones & Company at 15 Wall Street in 1882....
. Like The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and the Washington Post, the company was in recent years publicly traded but privately controlled. The company was led by the Bancroft family
Bancroft family
The Bancroft family are the former owners of Dow Jones & Company — publishers of the Wall Street Journal — which is now owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation .- The family :...
, which effectively controlled 64% of all voting stock, before being acquired by News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
.
The company became a subsidiary of News Corporation after an extended takeover bid during 2007. It was reported on August 1, 2007 that the bid had been successful after an extended period of uncertainty about shareholder agreement. The transaction was completed on December 13, 2007. It was worth US$5 billion or $60 a share, giving NewsCorp control of The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
and ending the Bancroft family's 105 years of ownership.
In 2010, the company sold 90% of Dow Jones Indexes
Dow Jones Indexes
Dow Jones Indexes was formed in 1997 as an entity within Dow Jones & Co. It is now owned by the CME Group. It serves as the marketing name of CME Group Indexes, LLC. It produces, maintains, licenses and markets indexes as benchmarks and as the basis of investible products such as exchange traded...
to the CME Group
CME Group
The CME Group bases prices for US gasoline on Brent Crude rather than West Texas Intermediate Crude , which many believe is responsible for artificially high gas prices for US consumers...
, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average , also called the Industrial Average, the Dow Jones, the Dow 30, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index, and one of several indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow...
.
Consumer media
Its flagship publication, The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, is a daily newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
in print and online covering business, financial national and international news and issues around the globe. It began publishing on July 8, 1889. Other editions of the Journal include:
- The Wall Street Journal AsiaThe Wall Street Journal AsiaThe Wall Street Journal Asia, a version of The Wall Street Journal provides news and analysis of global business developments for an Asian audience. It was founded in 1976 and is printed in nine Asian cities: Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo....
covering news and business in Asia and around the world; - The Wall Street Journal EuropeThe Wall Street Journal EuropeThe Wall Street Journal Europe is a daily English-language newspaper that covers global and regional business news for Europe, the Middle East and Africa...
covering news and business in Europe and around the world; - The Wall Street Journal Special EditionsThe Wall Street Journal Special EditionsThe Wall Street Journal Special Editions is a venture launched in 1994 by The Wall Street Journal to expand its readership abroad, especially in the Americas. It publishes pages, bearing the Journal's banner, within major daily and weekly newspapers around the world featuring selected content from...
, publishing translations of articles for inclusion in local newspapers, notably in Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
Other consumer-oriented publications of Dow Jones include Barron's Magazine
Barron's Magazine
Barron's is an American weekly newspaper covering U.S. financial information, market developments, and relevant statistics. Each issue provides a wrap-up of the previous week's market activity, news reports, and an informative outlook on the week to come....
, a weekly overview of the world economy and markets; MarketWatch.com, the online financial news site; and the consumer magazine SmartMoney
SmartMoney
SmartMoney The Wall Street Journal Magazine of Personal Business was launched in 1992 by Hearst Corporation and Dow Jones & Company. In 2010, Hearst sold its stake to Dow Jones. Its first editor was Norman Pearlstine....
which was jointly owned with Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
until they sold their stakes to Dow Jones in March 2010.
The monthly journal Far Eastern Economic Review
Far Eastern Economic Review
The Far Eastern Economic Review was an English language Asian news magazine started in 1946. It printed its final issue in December 2009. The Hong Kong-based business magazine was originally published weekly...
closed in September 2009.
Local media
Dow Jones also owns Dow Jones Local Media Group, which publishes several community newspapers in the U.S.Enterprise media
The Dow Jones Enterprise Media Group provides financial news and information primarily to business customers. Its products combine content and technology tools to help drive decisions. Major brands include Dow Jones Newswires, Dow Jones FactivaFactiva
Factiva is a business information and research tool owned by Dow Jones & Company. Factiva aggregates content from both licensed and free sources, and provides organizations with search, alerting, dissemination, and other information management capabilities...
, Dow Jones Indexes, Dow Jones Client Solutions and Dow Jones Financial Information Services.
Ventures
In 2009 Dow Jones Ventures launched FINS.comFINS.com
FINS.com is a standalone resource for financial professionals with information about finance careers and the finance industry, launched in July 2009 by Dow Jones & Company, publisher of The Wall Street Journal...
, a standalone resource for financial professionals with information about finance careers and the finance industry.
Broadcasting
In broadcasting, Dow Jones provides news content to CNBCCNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
in the U.S. It produces two shows for commercial radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, The Wall Street Journal Report on the Wall Street Journal Radio Network
Wall Street Journal Radio
The Wall Street Journal Radio Network has provided radio news to its affiliates for over 25 years. It is a part of The Wall Street Journal, owned by Dow Jones....
and The Dow Jones Report.
Indices
Dow Jones sold a 90% stake in its Index business for $607.5M to ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based CME Group in February 2010. A few of the most widely used include:
- Dow Jones Industrial AverageDow Jones Industrial AverageThe Dow Jones Industrial Average , also called the Industrial Average, the Dow Jones, the Dow 30, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index, and one of several indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow...
(DJIA, "Dow 30", or often simply "The Dow") - Dow Jones Transportation AverageDow Jones Transportation AverageThe Dow Jones Transportation Average is a U.S. stock market index from Dow Jones Indexes of the transportation sector, and is the most widely recognized gauge of the American transportation sector...
- Dow Jones Utility AverageDow Jones Utility AverageThe Dow Jones Utility Average is a stock index from Dow Jones Indexes that keeps track of the performance of 15 prominent utility companies.-Components:...
- Dow Jones Composite AverageDow Jones Composite AverageThe Dow Jones Composite Average is a stock index from Dow Jones Indexes that tracks 65 prominent companies. The average's components are every stock from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Dow Jones Transportation Average, and the Dow Jones Utility Average....
- The Global DowThe Global DowThe Global Dow is a 150-stock index of corporations from around the world, created by Dow Jones & Company. Only blue-chip stocks are included in the index....
- Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index
- Dow Jones Total Stock Market Index
- Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes
- Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Indexes
- Dow Jones Target Date Indexes
Ownership
The Bancroft family and heirs of Clarence W. BarronClarence W. Barron
Clarence W. Barron is one of the most influential figures in the history of Dow Jones & Company. As a career newsman described as a "short, rotund powerhouse," he died holding the posts of president of Dow Jones and de facto manager of The Wall Street Journal...
once effectively controlled the company class B shares, each with a voting power of ten regular shares, prior to its sale to News Corp. At one time, they controlled 64% of Dow Jones voting stock.
Buyout offer
On May 1, 2007, Dow Jones released a statement confirming that News CorporationNews Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
, led by Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
, had made an unsolicited offer of $60 per share, or $5 billion, for Dow Jones. Stock was briefly halted for pending press release. The halt lasted under 10 minutes while CNBC was receiving data. It has been suggested that the buyout offer is related to Murdoch's new cable business news channel Fox Business that launched in 2007. The Dow Jones brand brings instant credibility to the project.
On June 6, 2007, CEO Brian Tierney of Philadelphia Media Holdings L.L.C., owning company of The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
, Philadelphia Daily News
Philadelphia Daily News
The Philadelphia Daily News is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The newspaper is owned by Philadelphia Media Holdings which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Daily News began publishing on March 31, 1925, under...
, and Philly.com, went public in an article on Philly.com expressing interest in "joining with outside partners to buy Dow Jones." Tierney said, "We would participate as Philadelphia Media Holdings, along with other investors. We wouldn't do it alone."
In June, MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
founder Brad Greenspan
Brad Greenspan
Brad Greenspan is an internet entrepreneur who has been involved in the founding and proliferation of web properties including MySpace. Greenspan founded eUniverse Inc. in 1998, which went public in 1999. The company survived the .com-bust of 2001 and was the incubator that launched MySpace.com in...
put forth a bid to buy 25% of the Dow for $60 a share, the same price per share as News Corporation's bid. Greenspan's offer was for $1.25 billion for 25% of the company.
On July 17, 2007, The Wall Street Journal, a unit of Dow Jones, reported that the company and News Corporation had agreed in principle on a US$5 billion takeover, that the offer would be put to the full Dow Jones board on the same evening in New York, and that the offer valued the company at 70% more than the company's market value.
Insider trading scandal
Upon investigating suspicious share price movements in the run-up to the announcement, the SEC alleged that board member Sir David Li, one of Hong Kong's most prominent businessmen, had informed his close friend and business associate Michael Leung of the impending offer. Leung had acted on this information by telling his daughter and son-in-law, who reaped a US$8.2 million profit from the transaction.Corporate governance
Prior to its sale to News Corp, the last members of the board of directorsBoard of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the company were: Christopher Bancroft, Lewis B. Campbell
Lewis B. Campbell
Lewis B. Campbell is the former CEO of Textron. He received a BSE from Duke University in 1968.-Campbell’s Transformation of Textron:In 1998, Campbell was appointed chief executive officer. Campbell believed in the “core business” model, and divested from Avco Financial Services...
, Michael Elefante, John Engler
John Engler
John Mathias Engler is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He served as the 46th Governor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003....
, Harvey Golub
Harvey Golub
Harvey Golub is a business executive, most recently the Chairman of the Board at American International Group . His resignation as AIG chair was announced on July 16, 2010...
, Leslie Hill
Leslie Hill
Leslie Hill is professor of French at the University of Warwick. He has written several influential books on French writers and philosophers including Samuel Beckett, Marguerite Duras, Maurice Blanchot, Georges Bataille, Pierre Klossowski and Jacques Derrida...
, Irvine Hockaday, Peter Kann, David Li, M. Peter McPherson
M. Peter McPherson
M. Peter McPherson was a special assistant to President Gerald Ford, head of USAID under President Ronald Reagan, president of Michigan State University from 1993 to 2004, and Chairman of Dow Jones beginning in 2007....
(Chairman), Frank Newman, James Ottaway, Elizabeth Steele, and William Steere.
See also
- Closing milestones of the Dow Jones Industrial AverageClosing milestones of the Dow Jones Industrial AverageThis article is a summary of the closing milestones of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a United States stock market index. Since opening at 40.94 on May 26, 1896, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has increased steadily, despite several periods of decline....
- List of assets owned by Dow Jones
External links
- Dow Jones corporate site
- Dow Jones corporate history
- Dow Jones Indexes corporate site
- Dow Jones Stock Indexes averages research site
- Dow Jones Indexes video on indexing using Latin America as an example
- Wall Street Journal
- Dow Jones Today
- Dow Jones Newswires
- Yahoo! Finance - Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Company Profile
- MarketWatch news site
- Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes
- Industry Classification Benchmark - Dow Jones Indexes and FTSE
- Overview of company history "Dow Jones Saga Reflects The Forces That Shaped The Wall Street Journal"