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Doug Krizner: Some people thought it would never happen.
But five months and $5 billion later, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp is set to take control of the Wall Street Journal. The company’s board votes on the purchase today. Marketplace’s Lisa Napoli looks at what’s in store.

Lisa Napoli: Rupert Murdoch’s official arrival at the Journal is already being felt at rival media companies.

Jeff Jarvis: There are a lot of players here who are ready for a lot of competition.

That’s media blogger Jeff Jarvis. He says consider that the New York Times has poached one of the Journal’s star political reporters.

Arch-rival CNBC was spared recent lay-offs by parent company NBC so it could stay competitive against Murdoch’s Fox Business Channel. On Wednesday, CNBC also announced a distribution deal with Yahoo to give it more exposure online.

Jarvis says Murdoch’s Journal purchase could shake up the entire news business:

Jarvis: The Wall Street Journal is a national paper, but it’s a national financial paper. The more the Wall Street Journal becomes a national newspaper, the more it can grow — both in audience and in a broader advertising base.

And that’s something the Journal has needed.

In Los Angeles, I’m Lisa Napoli for Marketplace.