The controlling shareholders of Dow Jones have sought guarantees from Rupert Murdoch''s News Corp on the continued independence of its flagship property, The Wall Street Journal.

According to reports in The Wall Street Journal an agreement on this issue is crucial to the success of News Corp''s bid for the Dow Jones media group. News Corp made a $5 billion offer for the Dow in May. (See: Murdoch eyes Wall Street Journal, makes $5-billion bid for Dow Jones)

The Bancroft family controls 64 per cent of the Dow Jones voting rights and will ultimately decide its future. Members of the family had initially resisted selling The Wall Street Journal, but appeared to change course after holding talks with Murdoch last week.

The new terms of any potential deal, expected to be sent to News Corp, will include the appointment of a special autonomous board set up to safeguard the editorial independence of the paper.