Howard J. Rubenstein is the smartest and most powerful independent public relations practitioner. But, he’s more than just a PR man, he’s the ultimate powerbroker. I should know, I had the good fortune to work for him for eight years until I started my own PR firm back in 1992.
No one has reported more thoroughly on Howard’s past and present operations than Ken Auletta, the author and media writer for The New Yorker. He profiled Howard in a fascinating 9,000-word feature story in the New Yorker last Februrary.
Howard is the longtime public relations counsel to Rupert Murdoch and we can imagine he’s been pretty busy recently with the takeover campaign for Dow Jones. We wonder how an acquistion would position Howard and his clients in terms of access to Wall Street Journal editors and reporters, so I asked Ken. Here’s what he told me:
"Howard Rubenstein has ties to many public officials and clients that are important to a New York newspaper. Rupert Murdoch is his friend, and client, and the New York Post is also a client. Aside from Rubenstein’s considerable skills, every Post reporter knows that he is not just another flack. And should Murdoch acquire the Wall Street Journal, Rubenstein will have more friends."
I interviewed Ken on Beet.TV last year. He has some interesting insights into Murdoch’s style and business strategy. The clip is below.
WSJVIDEO Could be Huge!
Update on the Dow Jones Takeover Saga: Internet entrepreneur Brad Greenspan has just published a letter to Dow Jones shareholders about the future valuation of Dow Jones. He says there is big value in business television. And, he’s coined a new enteprise WSJVIDEO. Rafat Ali provides some good analysis. Here’s what Brad told me about his goals a couple weeks back.
—Andy Plesser
Howard J. Rubenstein, 
Ken Auletta, 
Murdoch, 
Brad Greenspan, 
Dow Jones, 
WSJVIDEO, 
Rafat Ali
