"Journal newsroom employees say that Mr. Murdoch and the publisher he installed, Robert J. Thomson, have made it clear that they think the paper has too many editors, and have instructed Mr. Brauchli to thin the ranks, potentially making roomm in the headcount for more reporters. Two people briefed on Mr. Brauchli’s thinking said that had become a major point of contention." [Times]
Rupert Murdoch's takeover of the Wall Street Journal has been swift and smooth-till now. Marcus Brauchli, the modernizer who sought to reconcile the storied business newspaper with its new owners, is reported to be quitting his position. Sources at the Journal tell Time that Brauchli is submitting a letter of resignation, with his departure to be announced as early as Tuesday morning. It's a surprise.
Stuart Karle, the Wall Street Journal's long time first amendment lawyer, was fired yesterday by a Murdoch-installed Dow Jones bigwig. Managing editor Marcus Brauchli wasn't in, or even allowed to weigh in on, the decision. Add to this, Murdoch snubbed Brauchli's welcome speech when he first arrived. It's as if this crazy media mogul is taking over the entire Wall Street Journal operation! He must be stopped! Of course, "first amendment lawyer" isn't exactly an editorial position, so one wonders how much say the managing editor ought to have, and also perhaps he's just distancing himself from the decision for political reasons, and, as we have seen in most other Murdoch outlets, Rupe hardly calls these sorts of shots himself in an imposing top-down dictator/owner fashion, so maybe a press-friendly lawyer just got fired, and maybe people at the Journal are just worried about their own job security, "well-liked" or not. [NY Observer]
And so it begins. When Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation completed its acquisition of the Wall Street Journal, the Australian-born mogul brought in a fellow countryman as the business newspaper's publisher. Don't think for a minute that this is an Australian takeover, like the one the 76-year-old mogul implemented at the New York Post, his other US newspaper title; Murdoch's henchmen can't stop telling people how much they like and respect Marcus Brauchli, the Wall Street Journal's native managing editor. And, according to the News Corporation talking points, the Journal veteran and Murdoch's favorite go way back. Brauchli and Thomson were both foreign correspondents in Asia, earlier in their careers. Slightly awkward then that Brauchli had a welcome speech prepared when Murdoch came before the holidays to greet his new subjects in the Journal's newsroom. And the managing editor had to put his notes back in his pocket, we're told, because the new bosses forgot to call on him. (Any tidbits about the Journal under the new regime, send to nick@gawker.com.)
Dow Jones VP Paul Ingrassia (brother of Times Biz editor Larry, as we are always reminded) plans to leave the company in early 2008. Ingrassia, who was passed over for the managing editor job at the Wall Street Journal in favor of Marcus Brauchli, claims that the move has nothing to do with Rupert Murdoch's acquisition of the company, but, really, why else would you leave? [Reuters]
This morning, Wall Street Journal managing editor Marcus Brauchli sent out an internal memo to his troops, basically cautioning them not to rush to judgment and assuring them that Rupert Murdoch's purchase of the paper's parent company "won't change what we do in the newsroom." Uh, yeah, good luck with that! The full memo after the jump. (Nice sign-off, btw!)
The Bancroft family will send its proposal for a board to preserve the Wall Street Journal's editorial independence to Rupert Murdoch as early as today. In the wake of yesterday's organizational realignment by new Managing Editor Marcus Brauchli—which sends Jim Cramer into paroxysms of fury—the paper announced it will raise its newsstand price to $1.50 an issue, which is less significant than it seems because no one actually buys the Wall Street Journal, they get it free at work. As the union representing Dow Jones employees flails about in its efforts to find an alternate bidder to Murdoch, the Guardian's Roy Greenslade defends the News Corp. head: "He knows how to run papers."
If Rupert Murdoch agrees to the Bancroft family's plans for editorial independence at Dow Jones, the family will tell the board to begin negotiations. Then, a year down the road when Murdoch breaks his promise and remakes the Wall Street Journal, the Bancrofts can say, "Hey, at least we tried," from the decks of their yachts. Everyone wins! Meanwhile, back at the Journal, new Managing Editor Marcus Brauchli is busy rearranging the deck chairs—including stripping a few "rising stars" of their titles. If anyone understands the agenda behind it all, get in touch with us, because we don't get it. In any event—don't get too comfortable, anyone!
