Jesse Oxfeld of New York magazine has an interview Monday with Thomas Bray, the head of the editorial oversight committee designed to protect The Wall Street Journal from interference by owner Rupert Murdoch.
Here is an excerpt:
Thomson was initially installed as publisher but functioned as editorial overlord. Wasn’t that just an end run around the committee?
Potentially, yes. But his role was described as basically head of the editorial product for all of Dow Jones, which includes for instance Barron’s, which is not covered by the agreement at all. And Dow Jones has always had a publisher, and the publisher has always, to one degree or another, had an influence on—
But Thomson’s duties were not traditional newspaper-publisher duties.
Well, those shifted, even at Dow Jones. How you set that system up, it varies at a lot of newspapers.
The committee has said that it was frustrated with how Brauchli’s departure was handled, and Thomson’s involvement in that. But hasn’t the committee now merely signed off on a fait accompli?
That did trouble us. But you have to weigh that against other factors, including Robert’s fairly long record as a distinguished editor at various publications, including working for Murdoch as head of the Times of London.
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