The letter has it all – bold print, bullet points, and italics.  It’s 1,200 words long.  And it’s signed by billionaire Rupert Murdoch.  That’s right – Murdoch’s most recent communication regarding a Dow Jones takeover has been published by The Wall Street Journal, a Dow Jones property.

Which may not have been what the billionaire intended.  “We are disappointed, as I imagine you are, that the details of our proposal and the discussion of the merits of a potential combination have become a matter of public debate,” he wrote to the Bancroft family (which owns Dow Jones).  Yet the letter was unfailingly courteous, and modesty ruled the day.

News Corp’s hostile $5 billion offer for publisher Dow Jones may spur a bidding war, and Google’s name has been invoked alongside other potential bidders.