An old man ruins a great newspaper

On February 4, 2008, News Corp. released its quarterly earnings for the first time as the official owner of Dow Jones. The company reported a 24 percent increase in operating profit, though its net income rose only fractionally—just 1 percent. Thomson strolled by Brauchli's office and said, in a stage whisper, “Operating profit, operating profit, operating profit.” Brauchli was initially puzzled but then realized that Thomson must be referring to the earnings release. Brauchli brought Thomson into his office and explained that the Journal always emphasized net income first in its stories, since that figure took into account taxes, depreciation, and all the other costs that affected a business's performance, and the paper considered it the most important figure in a company's earnings release. Any other number allowed a corporation to include or exclude various charges and other figures that could make the earnings appear rosier. “Oh, don't change the standard, then,” Thomson replied. “Just be consistent.” The following day, Brauchli was amused to see that the New York Post's story on the topic led with a “record” increase in operating income.

-The Man Who Tried to Manage Murdoch