After the alliance between Pearson and General Electric failed to make a bid for Wall Street Journal and its parent company, Rupert Murdoch, the Australian media mogul may be one step closer to adding the prestigious newspaper to its portfolio.

According to the New York Times, the acquisition had less to do with sale price than with the question of editorial independence.

Quoting sources familiar with the issue, the New York Times said that Murdoch and advisors for Dow Jones and the controlling Bancroft family were close to agreeing on terms that would protect the Journal's "newsroom independence" if News Corporation takes over the company.

Also Wall Street Journal reported that News Corp. sent back a significantly altered draft on Saturday in response to a Dow Jones proposal to safeguard its editorial independence. The Dow Jones proposal requested for a seven-member Special Committee on Editorial and Journalistic Integrity and would limit News Corp.'s ability to control the Wall Street Journal.

The news media mogul, Rupert Murdoch, the owner of New Corp has made a 5-billion-dollar bid for Dow Jones. The Bancroft family initially rejected the offer, but afterwards the family said that it is still working on a proposal to send to Murdoch's News Corp that would protect the newspaper's editorial independence.