Drinking whiskey and having a wake

Reporters at The Wall Street Journal held a wake Tuesday afternoon after it became apparent that the paper had been sold to News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, writes Richard Perez-Pena and Andrew Ross Sorkin of The New York Times.

Perez-Pena and Sorkin wrote, “Mr. Murdoch has talked of pumping money into The Journal, bolstering its coverage of national affairs and its European and Asian editions, which could pose a serious challenge to competitors like The Financial Times and The New York Times. That could mean losing money in the short run, something Mr. Murdoch has always been willing to do to attract readers and gain influence.

“Some Dow Jones employees see having such a wealthy, engaged owner as an improvement after years of uncertainty. Still, there was no official announcement at The Journal’s newsrooms, where some reporters mourned the loss of independence.

“‘It’s sad,’ said a veteran reporter at one of the domestic bureaus, who did not want to be named because of concerns over his career. ‘We held a wake. We stood around a pile of Journals and drank whiskey.’

“News reports of the deal initiated an outpouring of comments on The Journal’s own Web site, many critical of the News Corporation, and some regrets from other shareholders.”

Read more here.