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BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhuanet) -- The family that controls Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, has softened its stance toward media mogul Rupuert Murdoch and will consider his offer to purchase the company, as well as other potential bids.

  The Bancrofts said in a statement they would get together with Murdoch to discuss his bid, which became public in early May. The family members had previously indicated they intended to block Murdoch's bid to buy the company.

The Bancrofts said the family "remains resolute in its commitment to preserve and protect the editorial independence and integrity of The Wall Street Journal," but had also concluded that "the mission of Dow Jones may be better accomplished in combination or collaboration with another organization, which may include News Corporation."

Despite the Journal's tremendous prestige and clout in the business world, Dow Jones remains a relatively small company compared with large media operators such as Murdoch's News Corp., whose operations such as Twentieth Century Fox, Fox News Channel and MySpace span the globe. The 5 billion U.S. dollar offer that Murdoch made for Dow Jones could easily be paid out of News Corp.'s cash stockpile.

Murdoch has said he would invest in the Journal and ensure its editorial independence, something the Bancroft family as well as employees of Dow Jones say is paramount to the company's mission.

Like several other newspaper publishers including The New York Times Co. and The Washington Post Co., Dow Jones is a public company but remains controlled by a family through a special class of shares with powerful voting rights.