Yahoo and News Corp. -- the match made in hell
As Yahoo tries to find ways to stop Microsoft from gobbling it up, speculation abounds about the possibility of News Corp. setting up a deal that ostensibly would make all parties involved quite happy.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. could get a 20-plus percent stake in Yahoo and MySpace and other News Corp. properties would be combined with Yahoo to create a mega-online firm.
And while some believe this is a match made in Heaven, I can't seem to grasp exactly why that could be. As far as I'm concerned, this is a match made in hell that will never happen anyway.
Let's face it -- if this deal does go through, what do Yahoo and News Corp. gain? Certainly News Corp. could enjoy the fruits of Jerry Yang's labor and increase its online presence, but what about Yahoo? It gives up a 20 percent stake and has new management to deal with. Whoop dee do.
On the other hand, some say the deal could benefit Yahoo in a very big way -- Microsoft will be left out in the cold. But if you ask me, that logic is faulty and, well, dumb. Microsoft will never be allowed to acquire Yahoo in the first place once regulators get involved and I'm not convinced Microsoft even wants the company.
But I digress. What will this lovely marriage of search and news do for the world? Nothing. Simply put, you'll have people from two distinct cultures going at each other thinking they know what's best for all parties involved. Of course, in the end, neither party knows what we want.
Where Yahoo wants to move more towards open source, Rupert Murdoch and company still won't let you have anything for free. Where Yahoo knows how to increase traffic and keep it there, News Corp. buys social networks and watches as many of its users migrate to the competition. Where Yahoo acquires companies for no reason, News Corp., well, OK, maybe that's the same.
But what most fail to realize here is that News Corp. has no idea how to run a huge and successful online firm. If it sits at the helm of MySpace and can't do anything right, what makes you think it can do something special with Yahoo? Trust me, it can't.
A Yahoo-News Corp. merger would precipitate a revolt from shareholders who would lose out in the deal and create an oddly misguided company that was nothing more than clash of two very different corporate cultures. In fact, if such a merger ever became a reality, I would venture to say that Yahoo would only decline even worse.
Yes, News Corp. really is that bad.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
I'd hate to see Yahoo's homepage spattered with "Zwinky Ringtone" ads and "See who's online" banners, which would be it's unfortunate fate if this deal were to happen. Not only would Yahoo employees head for the hills, but their users would also.
As someone who travels across the globe half the year, I am always stunned at how much news are molded for US viewing consumption. I remember being stuck in Rome in 1999 and telling my sister in SF about the anti-war demontrations with 150,000 lying down in the streets, as well as most major cities and finding out that the new of 450,000 greeks protesting Clinton's visit was totally missing from our major networks. Sure, people could find this on the web but it hits you that those who dont have a censored view of the world..
My point is the control of the media did not start or end with Murdoch or even Hearst.
Geopolitical games depend on a willing and complicit media to push 'the truth' which always happens to follow the wishes of the motherland.
The other stuff Gibson was decrying isnt specific to FOX and News Corp, it IS popular culture.
That said, I cant think of any company that fits less with Yahoo than News Corp.
I'm not a fan of Microsoft by any stretch but this is like a choice between being raped by Jack the Ripper or fing**** by Capt. Hook. Neither sounds very tantalizing.
What was that grumbling about AOL and Yahoo recently? And who would be buying who?
Of course, this is to be expected, whether Yahoo is truly looking for a savior (or poison pill) or just trying to get a little buzz going to give the impression of interest and getting a higher offer.