Rupert Murdoch’s A Phone Callin’ Man

Rupert Murdoch personally called at least three Wall Street Journal reporters to convince them to stay at the paper. According to the Los Angeles Times, Murdoch called Tara Parker-Pope, Kate Kelly and Henny Senders while on his vacation his Mediterranean yacht. Sender has been offered a post at the Financial Times and both Parker-Pope and Kelly are in talks with the New York Times.

The state of the reporters: Parker-Pope will be leaving the Journal, Kelly has decided to stay at the post-Murdoch paper and Senders is undecided. Via the Times:

In a brief interview, Parker-Pope said her decision to leave had nothing to do with the acquisition. Many journalists at the Journal have accused the media baron of using his newspapers and television channels to push his conservative political agenda and to steer coverage to suit his business goals.

“It didn’t have anything to do with Mr. Murdoch,” Parker-Pope said, expressing regret at leaving the Journal ahead of what she said would be an exciting time. “It’s always been a great newspaper — and now it’s a great newspaper with resources.”

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