Lots of ins, outs and what-have-yous in the fallout from Rupert Murdoch‘s surprise $5 billion bid to buy Dow Jones & Co. earlier this week.

For starters:

News Corp., launching a two-pronged offensive, is planning to take its case for buying Dow Jones & Co. to the media company’s controlling shareholders, the Bancroft family, and directly to the newsroom of the Wall Street Journal.

Murdoch insists this isn’t about turning the Journal into the Post or “slashing-and-burning” the staff:

“We’re not coming in with a bunch of cost-cutters,” he said, but added: “I’m not saying it’s going to be a holiday camp for everybody.”

The staff, meanwhile, has been asked to show support for the Bancroft fam.

While just about everybody who has watched Fox News or picked up a Post has an opinion on the matter, perhaps none are more poetic than those of this media consultant guy, who weighs in — poetically — on Rupe’s pre-Grape Nuts thoughts:

“Rupert wakes up in the morning and thinks about how he can change the media world and where there are white spaces.”

The Economist asks a rhetorical question: Is Murdoch’s bid for Dow Jones just about vanity?

We ask one we hope isn’t: Would you want Rupert Murdoch as your boss?

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