“What's he like to work for?” “Will he take the paper down-market?” “Is this the end of our credibility?” There was also the inevitable question to other billionaire media owners in the room: “Why won't you bid for the Journal?”, asked with the quiet desperation of men queuing for the last lifeboat on the Titanic. The conversation echoed the questions that had dominated U.S. media commentary ever since news of the $5 billion bid became public. Now, as Murdoch prepares to take full control of the most influential title he has ever owned, hysteria has given way to the realisation that being controlled by one of the most aggressive, richest media moguls in the world could bring enormous benefits – but at a price. The key question being asked by the Journal's offices in downtown Manhattan is: “How do we survive Rupert Murdoch?”

That question has to be set against the background that most American journalists have never really been able to understand Murdoch, which explains why, even today, many of the key positions at his New York Post are filled by British and Australian executives. The aggressive, take-no-prisoners approach that he brings to all business dealings – but particularly newspapers – is viewed by many Americans with bemusement bordering on disdain. Upsetting the status quo with price-cutting, promotions and heavy TV advertising, as he has done for almost 30 years in the U.S. – similar armoury has been deployed with his British papers – constantly shocks other well-established media owners. Factor in his right-wing politics in a media industry that is largely liberal-leaning and it is not hard to see why he is held in such low esteem.

On the day Murdoch announced his bid for Dow Jones, editors at my own newspaper, the New York Daily News, predicted the Wall Street Journal would lose all its authority; journalists' jobs would be on the chopping block; even that its staff would be merged with the credibility-challenged New York Post. During the last six months, in the self-absorbed media circus that is New York City, each move, utterance and sighting of Rupert Murdoch at the Journal offices has become the subject of interpretation in almost forensic detail. The arrival of the rotund, high-living new Post editor Col Allen with his boss during one visit was met with the immediate assertion that he was now the favoured candidate to be the newspaper's next editor-in-chief.

Battle lines drawn

For the staff of the Journal, however, trying to establish the ground-rules likely to be set by the new regime is a fascinating exercise. Those of us who have been through newspaper wars under the Murdoch flag can offer several steps for survival that may prove useful for journalists never previously exposed to an ownership that operates with such laser-like intensity:

1. Live and die by making decisions

Few Wall Street Journal reporters or editors would ever claim that being owned by the dysfunctional Bancroft family brought dynamic leadership, but with Murdoch things will be totally different. If you don't want to execute a good idea, don't mention it. As editor of Today, I saw Murdoch act with lightning speed whenever I wanted to launch supplements, sections or take any action to improve the newspaper. The decision to begin a weekly TV-listings guide in 1991 took one phone call and two hours to make. The decision to sign an expensive astrologer took less than that. Reacting instinctively is one of Murdoch's great strengths – and his instincts about business decisions and people normally have an uncanny habit of being correct.

2. Prepare for criticism

He can criticise the layout of a page in one of his tabloids as easily as discussing the placement of a significant political story in a News Corporation broadsheet newspaper, or the values of a new Fox TV comedy, or the concept of a 20th Century Fox movie. Content, layout, display; he has a view on them all and doesn't hesitate to express it. In a country where ownership almost never interferes in story placement or the content proposition outside the editorial pages, the Murdoch way of working will be a shock to the system. Several times in interviews with other media, Murdoch has said how he enjoys shorter, tighter stories. Take it as a given that in a year's time the Journal will have shorter, tighter stories.

3. Fine tune the political radar

Understanding that Murdoch favours a certain politician does not always guarantee that he or she will receive positive editorial treatment, but does makes it almost certain that there will be no negative or hostile coverage. Murdoch is the intellectual force within the company. His key lieutenants totally understand his positions. The option is always available to ignore those views – but as with everything in a business so heavily dominated by one man, ignoring those views can carry a heavy price.

4. The cheque book isn't always open

In the 1980s, The Sun newspaper was involved in one of the great newspaper wars of all time with the Daily Mirror. Under the respective leaderships of Kelvin MacKenzie and Richard Stott, the two papers fought a daily take-no-prisoners battle. It would have been expected that Murdoch would have provided any resource to allow The Sun to beat its great rival. But financial pressures in other parts of the company were causing concern and Murdoch was determined that not a penny would be spent without his personal sanction.

A group of Sun executives, myself included, decided to ask for a modest amount of money for a badly-needed promotional campaign – certainly a small amount compared with what we had spent in the past. In his office, Murdoch listened to the editorial rationale of the plan. Finally it came to the key question: how much would it cost? One executive, trying to lighten the atmosphere, made the mistake of laughing off the costs. “Don't worry about that, Rupert, it'll only cost peanuts.” Murdoch's face turned to thunder as his hand crashed on to his desk. “Yeah, but they're my fucking peanuts!” News Corp may be a global company, but it's Rupert's global company.

5. Change is coming

In fact, Murdoch is likely to do just the opposite. Having been at News Corporation when some of the company's biggest deals were done, I cannot recall Murdoch ever waiting to get started on making changes. Launching new sections for the Journal, introducing deeper and better coverage in key areas and improving the political coverage will only be part of it. What will be more interesting is his involvement on the business side of the Journal. At many of his publications around the world he knows that winning the editorial war is only part of the battle. To be truly victorious, you have to exert financial pressures on your rivals.

Murdoch understands the war is waged on all fronts. You merely wound a rival by producing better content – more exclusives, better pictures, new products. To damage them fully, it takes more. In the New York tabloid wars, he has repeatedly used price-cutting to gain circulation, and low advertising rates to try not only to secure market share but to damage his opponents financially. For The New York Times – previously so dominant in the quality national newspaper market in the U.S. – the arrival of Murdoch is a nightmare come true at a time when advertising revenue is travelling downward. No one will relish that Times reaction more than Rupert.

One of the crucial issues facing the Journal will be how it fits into Murdoch's global plans – and the battle with his rivals. Tales of the New York Post relentlessly publishing negative stories about the trials and tribulations of Rupert's immediate newspaper rivals are legendary, as I can personally testify. The fact that the Post will also relentlessly publish stories about News Corporation rivals in other industries – publishing, television and film – is less well known.

That those stories appear as a direct result of a Murdoch directive is unlikely. But that Rupert's name is on the masthead is unarguable. Will the Journal succumb to such pressures? Will it maintain its independence and dignity in the face of being part of a global empire with so many interlocking and interdependent pieces? How the Wall Street Journal survives Rupert Murdoch will be one of the great media stories of the next decade.