Financial Times vs. Wall Street Journal
posted by Darian Ibrahim
In response to Glom guest blogger Usha Rodrigues’s excellent post slamming Rupert Murdoch’s changes at the Wall Street Journal, I chimed in with a comment on how much better the Financial Times is as a business-oriented newspaper. Editorials appearing in both papers over the last two days confirm my preference.
Yesterday’s WSJ contained what I’ll generously call a waste-of-space op-ed from Gary Wilson, a Yahoo director, on the need to separate the Chairman and CEO functions to avoid undue influence from “Imperial CEOs.” First, this isn’t exactly a new idea. Second, it doesn’t come from the most reputable voice on corporate governance these days considering the Yahoo board’s lackluster performance on the Microsoft offer. Yahoo’s Chairman and CEO functions are separate, as Wilson boasts, yet CEO Jerry Yang is beginning to look a lot like the Imperial CEO Wilson criticizes. Yang stubbornly refuses to sell to Microsoft, and the board (with its separate Chairman) continues to support him.
Today’s FT, by contrast, contains an editorial laying the blame for Yahoo’s problems on Yang’s doorstep and calling for his ouster. The right – and overdue – move, in my opinion, and one that Mr. Wilson and the other “non-dominated” Yahoo directors have been unwilling to make. Hopefully they won’t be long for the job after Carl Icahn’s proxy fight.
July 10, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Posted in: Corporate Law, Google & Search Engines
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Responses (5)
Usha Rodrigues - July 10, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Amen, Darian! You couldn’t be more right about yesterday’s “waste of space” op-ed in my once-beloved WSJ. The FT is looking better and better…
Miriam Cherry - July 11, 2008 at 3:14 am
I wouldn’t compare the editorial page – I read the W$J religioiusly… but not the editorial page!
UBEUBE - July 11, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I have always found FT to be the better of the two. It’s coverage is more focused on the business and financial aspects of stories, and its op-ed section seems to attract a greater range of commentators.
The greatest difference between the two papers, though, is on the weekend. The FT weekend beats the Weekend Journal hands down.
NYC - September 24, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I was trying to decide which one was better, and I have to agree with you. I prefer the FT.
sigloxxi - September 25, 2008 at 11:16 am
In my opinion the best is WSJ. FT love the show and alarmism as the crash of 29. Galbraith wrote about this.
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