Wall Street Journal circulation scam claims senior Murdoch executive

[CHIMO]

Source: guardian.co.uk

One of Rupert Murdoch's most senior European executives has resigned following Guardian inquiries about a circulation scam at News Corporation's flagship newspaper, the Wall Street Journal.

The Guardian found evidence that the Journal had been channelling money through European companies in order to secretly buy thousands of copies of its own paper at a knock-down rate, misleading readers and advertisers about the Journal's true circulation.

The bizarre scheme included a formal, written contract in which the Journal persuaded one company to co-operate by agreeing to publish articles that promoted its activities, a move which led some staff to accuse the paper's management of violating journalistic ethics and jeopardising its treasured reputation for editorial quality.

Internal emails and documents suggest the scam was promoted by Andrew Langhoff, the European managing director of the Journal's parent company, Dow Jones and Co, which was bought by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation in July 2007. Langhoff resigned on Tuesday.



Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/oct/12/wall-street-journal-andrew-langhoff

[Ian David]

1. The newspaper I used to work for did the same sort of thing. They inflated their numbers by 100%

Except what they did was wait until the 2-week period when the post office was auditing their circulation numbers, and then send free copies to all their former subscribers for two weeks.

[ixion]

2. Murdoch turned the WSJ into a tabloid

as was expected he would.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

3. Journalistic ethics? Murdoch? Gambeling in Casa Blanca?

[Scuba]

4. Corruption in business? Rupert told me the corruption was in government. Can't be true.

[Firebrand Gary]

5. Omg Wtf???

[nineteen50]

6. Let them police themselves

They would never, lie, cheat or steal.

[KansDem]

7. Perhaps it should be called, the "Wall Street Urinal."

F*cking scum! :grr:

[Kingofalldems]

8. K and R all Murdoch scandal threads

[KoKo]

9. Drip...Drip...Drip...When will Ruppert/Fox and his Empire ever GO DOWN!

I'm past frustration. Figure he'll be like Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld. He's old...he will die...but his empire will live on and he will never be brought down and serve time in jail..like he should have.

[quakerboy]

10. Kinda like how they inflate their viewership

by paying for TVs in every public space, under the understanding those TVs will play Fox all the time.

Shocking that News corp would try to cheat its clients, the advertisers. Simply shocking. Who would ever conceive of such a thing, What is the world coming too.

[OnyxCollie]

11. K&R. nt

[NBachers]

12. So they committed fraud on each and every one of their advertisers?

Every single advertiser should jump on 'em and demand a retroactive adjustment.

[CHIMO]

13. Wall Street Journal circulation figures to be investigated

The newspaper circulation watchdog is set to launch an investigation into Rupert Murdoch's flagship Wall Street Journal Europe, following the resignation of its publisher amid allegations that it artificially boosted its sales figures.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/oct/13/wall-street-journal-europe-circulation