WSJ editorial oversight committee failed in first test

Dean Starkman of the Columbia Journalism Review writes that the editorial oversight committee designed to protect The Wall Street Journal‘s independence failed by not acting after the forced resignation of managing editor Marcus Brauchli.

Starkman, a former Journal reporter, writes, “The fact that Brauchli didn’t object, and in fact is rumored to be handsomely compensated in return for his resignation, does not let the committee off the hook, if that’s what it is looking for.

“Its duties are not to Brauchli, but to the newspaper, and to readers, for that matter. And if changes to the ‘authority, reporting relationship and consulting rights’ were not apparent from the huge changes brought by the installation of Robert Thomson as Brauchli’s boss, which committee members could have learned from reading the newspaper they are supposed to protecting (1), then it was clear this week, when Brauchli exited and said in a memo to the staff that he had ‘come to believe the new owners should have an editor of their own choosing.’

“If it had any doubts, the committee even has the power to hire lawyers and investigators if needed ‘in connection with performing its duties and responsibilities, or exercising its rights,’ the deal says.”

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