Chapter 293: Dow Jones Industrial Average

"Jessica, you're here too?" Despite Rupert Murdoch seizing the opportunity to fundraise for Republican candidate John McCain.

"Charles," Jessica Alba saw Charles happily and gave him a warm hug.

"It must be due to the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer about to release. Twentieth Century Fox wants to give us actors more exposure," Jessica Alba, still just a pretty face and mainly known because of Fantastic Four.

This year, several movies adapted from Marvel Comics were set to release. Last month, Sony released Ghost Rider starring Nicolas Cage, with a production cost of 110 million dollars. It grossed 45 million dollars in its North American opening and has already surpassed 100 million dollars at the North American box office.

In the summer blockbuster season in May, Sony's Spider-Man 3 premiered, and also Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was released.

Capet Pictures didn't dare to release its Marvel movie Iron Man in May, so the release date was set a week before Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

May was entirely dominated by Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. No production company wanted to pit their big releases against these two giants.

Soon, the senior Senator from Arizona, John McCain, also got acquainted with Charles.

The election was to start the next year. This year was the time for candidates to build their teams and gather funds through various speeches.

John McCain, who gained national recognition after being captured and held for over five and a half years during combat missions in the Vietnam War, had become the leading Republican candidate.

It seemed more like a political gathering than a birthday party. Hillary and Barack had already raised over 25 million dollars in campaign funds within the first three months of the year.

John McCain had only raised a bit over 16 million dollars, a significant difference!

News Corporation's Fox News has been a powerful supporter of the Republican Party, rivaling CNN, which supported the Democrats.

Charles, holding Jessica Alba by the waist, glanced over at Rupert Murdoch, who was chatting with John McCain.

The New York Times, The Washington Post, New York Daily News, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal are major battlefronts for the two parties.

News Corporation had moved its headquarters from Australia to the U.S. at the end of 2004 and was eager to expand its media market.

They had their eyes on Dow Jones Group, which owned The Wall Street Journal, the newspaper known for its credibility in the U.S.

"Jessica, let's leave. It's not much fun staying here," Charles said to the sexy Jessica Alba.

"Yeah," Jessica Alba nodded.

...

At the same time, Charles and Jessica were leaving, three people were chatting in Rupert Murdoch's villa study.

Besides Rupert Murdoch, there were Les Hinton, head of News International, and Roger Ailes, CEO of Fox News Group. The three bald old guys were talking about acquiring Dow Jones Group.

Under Roger Ailes' leadership, Fox News had become a formidable rival to CNN and NBC, showcasing his strong capabilities.

Labeled as lecherous, ruthless, and arrogant, Roger Ailes had also been a campaign advisor for Republican presidential candidates.

"Charles Capet, Hearst Corporation is also supporting Arianna Huffington in acquiring The Wall Street Journal's ownership. They have already acquired over 8 million shares in the market, holding almost ten percentage of the total shares, and now the Dow Jones' stock price has been driven up to 56 dollars!" Rupert Murdoch's expression was calm, not expecting Charles Capet to make a move when he went after The Wall Street Journal last year.

Acquiring Dow Jones at its previous price of 35 dollars per share in March would have cost almost 3 billion dollars in market value, but now? The valuation itself is 4.6 billion and considering the premium, one need at least 5.5 billion.

"Fox News plans to launch Fox Business News Channel. The Wall Street Journal's business news can fill our gap," the most important asset for Dow Jones was The Wall Street Journal, with over 500 reporters in the U.S. and more than 200 overseas, providing top-notch business news.

Moreover, Dow Jones Newswires had over 2,000 reporters worldwide, supplying news reports every day.

News Corporation didn't have any significant newspapers in the U.S. apart from the New York Post.

The lack of business media had always been a shortcoming for Fox News, with CNBC under NBC Universal jointly established with Dow Jones.

Currently, Dow Jones still held some shares in CNBC's North American channel.

"As an important financial and commercial newspaper, the Financial Times based in London is The Wall Street Journal's main rival in the world. Owning The Wall Street Journal would be incredibly useful for our business newspaper sector," Les Hinton added, as News International's headquarters were in London, though now News Corporation was a U.S. company.

The two top executives supported Rupert Murdoch in acquiring The Wall Street Journal. Even though the Dow Jones Industrial Average was globally famous, its 30 companies couldn't compare usage-wise to the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

Furthermore, Dow Jones Group created over 3,000 indices worldwide, with only the Dow Jones Industrial Average standing out.

"A young fellow, not sticking to his Hollywood business, now showing interest in print media, only acquired a small New York Observer. Does he think The Wall Street Journal is just about capital?" Rupert Murdoch shook his head with a smile, perhaps it was time to teach the young man a lesson; experiencing failure isn't bad for young people's growth.

"Though Capet Entertainment is cash-rich, it's still insufficient for buying Dow Jones Group. We need to speed up our efforts."

"Roger, head to Washington. I need some political support!"

Roger Ailes nodded. Rupert Murdoch was determined to get The Wall Street Journal, as News Corporation already owned over 20% of Dow Jones Group's shares.

*****

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