In locking up Dow Jones & Co. for $5 billion late yesterday, Rupert Murdoch ensured that his vast influence will be felt in the business world for years to come — as it is now by hundreds of millions of global TV viewers, moviegoers and Internet users.

News Corp.'s purchase of the parent of the Wall Street Journal puts Murdoch, its chairman, within reach of fulfilling a personal ambition: leveraging the most trusted name in business news into the premier TV, print and online provider of financial information around the globe.

Murdoch claimed his prize after respective board meetings of News Corp. and Dow Jones directors late yesterday. In recent days, Murdoch had swayed enough members of the Bancroft family, which has 64 percent of the voting power, to cede ownership of a company they have controlled since 1928.

Murdoch intends to use the Journal brand, its stories and its editorial talent in new ways, most urgently to fill a new cable channel he is launching this fall to try to rival CNBC. He promises to beef up the Journal's editions in Asia and Europe. He wants the Journal to cover more general and political news, positioning it as a head-to-head rival of the nationally circulated New York Times. He also plans to expand the Journal's money-earning Web site.

Already, teens are among the 115 million global www.MySpace.com users whom Murdoch counts as his customers. So are the tens of millions of moviegoers worldwide who watched "The Simpsons Movie" in cinemas last weekend, the more than 30 million viewers who tuned in for the "American Idol" finale on the Fox network and some 300 million StarTV viewers in Asia. His empire has secured the rights to sporting events worldwide, using such properties as the NFL in the U.S. and soccer overseas to garner audiences and popularize his TV channels.

"He owns more than 100 newspapers, an international empire in television, print and the Internet," Boston University journalism expert Louis Ureneck said. "He's everywhere."

Veteran newspaper analyst John Morton called Murdoch a modern equivalent of William Randolph Hearst because of the extent to which News Corp. carries the 76-year-old billionaire's imprint, as was the case with the late California newspaper baron.

Those who disdain the native Australian's conservative politics, and journalists who fear his potential meddling in editorial decisions greeted with resignation and dismay the news that Murdoch had finally completed the deal after nearly three months of public wrangling.

Recently, Murdoch has suggested that Journal stories should be shorter and less esoteric. In scores of letters to the Bancrofts, reporters portrayed Murdoch as having a history of selecting editors who would use their power to help advance Murdoch's corporate interests.

"Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal are just feathers in Murdoch's cap — but signal a disturbing trend for consumers who rely on media to be independent and diverse sources for news and information," Consumer Union's Gene Kimmelman said in a statement yesterday.

Officials from the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees, which represents Journal employees, also expressed disappointment.

But Josh Bernoff of Forrester Research in Boston said he doesn't expect Murdoch to meddle with the Journal's news operations because its reputation is its most valuable asset.

"You don't buy a Bentley and then go off-roading with it," he said.

From the start, Murdoch's checkbook and patience gave him the advantage. His pursuit started informally earlier in the year when he got wind that the Bancrofts might be willing to sell for $60 a share, a price not seen in more than five years.

The News Corp. chairman asked Dow Jones chief executive Richard Zannino to breakfast in March. His first approach was rebuffed, but the margin of resistance grew smaller after Murdoch's proposed terms leaked and the stock soared. Murdoch then met with the Bancrofts and agreed in writing not to fire the Journal's top editors without the approval of an independent board.

By bidding 65 percent above the value of the Dow Jones stock, Murdoch all but eliminated any serious rivals and also made it virtually impossible for the Bancrofts to pass up his offer.

Dow Jones enjoys a rich history dating back to 1882, when it was founded by three journalists. The Wall Street Journal appeared in 1889, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average stock index debuting seven years later.