In a decent interview (we just talked about) with NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker, The Hollywood Reporter posed this hypothetical: "Rupert Murdoch could acquire the Wall Street Journal. If he integrates that with Fox Business Channel, what does that mean for CNBC?"

Now that Rupert has bought Dow Jones, let the fun begin in changing Jeff's response from a "could acquire" to a "did acquire" situation.

Reponds Zucker:

If this were two years ago, I would be far more concerned. CNBC has transformed itself into a strong and thriving operation under Mark Hoffman's leadership. We feel very comfortable with where CNBC is at today. We don't take any new competitor lightly. We're not going to make the same mistake CNN made when Fox News Channel came along a decade ago. We'll be strong and aggressive and continue to prove what makes CNBC by far the leading financial news broadcaster in the world. With all due respect to the success that News Corp. has had in many different places, just because Rupert Murdoch wants to launch something, it doesn't mean it's an automatic success. I think there is a degree of irony that the company that broke the story that Rupert Murdoch wanted to buy Dow Jones was CNBC.

If that "degree of irony" is that the Fox Business Channel is about to raid CNBC's ranks, then yes, let the rhetorical devices commence!