Saint Nick Sits On The WSJ Board

So Who Is On That New 'WSJ' Board To 'Buffer' Murdoch? Well, one member is Nicholas Negroponte, who just happens to be the younger borther of John Negroponte, who was member of Yale's Psi Upsilon fraternity along with Bush's Uncle Bucky.

And now it turns out that News Corp donated $2.5 million to Nicholas Negroponte's charity foundation:

News Corp.'s donation now raises issues over Negroponte's objectivity, a journalism expert said.

"If in fact Nicholas' foundation is receiving money from News Corp., that creates the perception and, quite possibly, the reality of a conflict," said Louis Ureneck, chairman of the journalism department at Boston University.

"Is a person truly independent if a decision he makes puts at risk a significant grant to his foundation? It strikes me that there is a conflict," Ureneck added.

It was not immediately clear if members of Dow Jones's controlling Bancroft family, who negotiated and agreed upon the structure of the independent board, were aware of the payment.

Meanwhile, there's more speculation about who'll take over News Corp when the old man dies. I think a major break-up of the monopoly would be in everybody's best interests.