1440 Wall Street Takes Flight

This week could go down as a pivotal one in the history of financial journalism. And we are not talking about the launch of 1440 Wall Street.

Will Rupert Murdoch finally close the deal to buy Dow Jones and Co. Inc.? It seems the next chapter in the company's storied history is about to begin.

Wall Street Journal co-founder Charles H. Dow died in 1902 of a heart attack. His partner, Edward D. Jones, sold the paper in 1904 to Clarence Barron. Reading 1440 Wall Street in 2007 is a bargain considering Barron's debut issue in May of 1921 set you back 20 cents.

Clarence Barron died in 1928 and his stepdaughter inherited the operation. Her name? Jane Bancroft.

The Bancroft family had a good run. This address might not enjoy that sort of longevity, but we hopefully will display a better sense of timing than Business Week magazine. September 1929 was a so-so month for the Yankees (15-13), but it was an inauspicious time to launch a financial weekly.

The Wall Street Journal did not surpass the 1 million mark in circulation until 1966, which happened to be the year Alan Abelson wrote his first Up and Down Wall Street column.  Hilarious stuff.  I don’t know exactly how long he has been bearish, as I only started it reading regularly in ‘82.  By that time my favorite financial journalist, Louis Rukeyser, was 12 years into his run as the host of Wall Street Week.

We don’t have any elves around here, and truth be told we don’t consider ourselves journalists either.  Hopefully you have an open mind, typo’s and all.  Thankfully real journalists have open minds, or else the New York Times might not have launched their Business Day section on the 17th of May, 1978.

I might have been asleep at the wheel for the debut of the Times’ Business Day, but I was there in August of 1995 at the start of a revolution.  But I won’t bore you again with the story about sneaking into the Netscape roadshow lunch.  Too, I was there for the launch of The Street.com, the company is finally turning a profit due to the heroic efforts of one man. Well done, James Altucher.

So, here we are. Take a spin around and check out the site.  We are still ironing out a few bugs.  Don’t get too comfortable, we will be adding video and a few other enhancements.  Keep an eye on the bylines as well.

The Cracker Barrel category is intended as a sort of breezy, informal discussion.  The name was inspired by a pithy weekly piece written years ago by an aptly named Brahmin.  I am not sure if John Adams is still with Adams, Harkness and Hill, perhaps he rode off into the night long before Canaccord came a courting.  Our Cracker Barrel is merely a catch all for things that might veer a bit off topic, with a little attitude thrown in for good measure. It might be more appropriate to call it Talking Smack.

And while Gulfstream jets are all the rage in Hedgistan, we prefer sleeker models ourselves. On Wall Street, after all, you need to arm yourself to the teeth.  And find a few good wingmen.  Expect us to fly several sorties a day.

By the way, if you feel the earth under your feet shaking later this week, it won’t be from 1440 practicing touch and go landings as we shakedown the new site.  But it might be Clarence Barron.

Rolling over in his grave.

Timeline of Important Business News Events

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The content contained represent the opinions of 1440 Wall Street. This commentary in no way constitutes a solicitation of business or investment advice. It is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.

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