(FORTUNE Magazine) – There it sits, the Wall Street Journal, alone in its citadel, the newspaper of record for American business. Each day it gives us tough-minded reporting on the companies that drive the economy--as measured by profitability, market performance, return on equity, and the like. Its editorial page cleaves to the idea of efficient markets with fundamentalist zeal. But Dow Jones, the Journal's owner, has seemed for years to operate in a world utterly unlike the one judged in the paper's pages. Run more like a family foundation than a publicly traded company, Dow Jones has blundered so regularly that its stock has gone nowhere during the greatest bull market in history. Yet the family that controls the voting shares offers nothing but praise for management, while other shareholders--the ones who actually bought their shares in the marketplace--can only grit their teeth.

That strange state of affairs may be coming to an end, as editor-at-large Joe Nocera explains in this issue. For the first time, some members of the family are asking whether Dow Jones should be held to the same standards that apply to other publicly held companies--and their answer seems to be yes.

How might things be done differently? Take a look at our story about NBC, which under GE's Bob Wright has become the No. 1 network today. Yes, it's a different kind of media company, but what Wright has wrought is a study in sound management strategy for any business. Senior writer Marc Gunther is uniquely qualified to show what really makes the Peacock Network tick. Gunther, a dedicated marathon runner who lives with his wife and two daughters in Bethesda, Maryland, has written two books on the television industry: Monday Night Mayhem and The House That Roone Built. Bob Wright, he found, "has been as misunderstood as anyone in the television business. It has taken a while for people to realize just how smart he is."

JOHN W. HUEY JR. MANAGING EDITOR