Categories: OLD Media Moves

Some question strength of WSJ editorial oversight board

John Koblin of The New York Observer writes Wednesday about how the editorial oversight board designed to protect The Wall Street Journal from News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch is being questioned by the journalists it is supposed to protect as the deal to acquire parent company Dow Jones & Co. gets ready to close.

Koblin wrote, “Since the Bancrofts accepted Mr. Murdochâ€™s bid, the Journal newsroom has been dubious about the level of influence the board will exert.

“‘People think itâ€™s a joke,’ said one reporter. ‘The only people who donâ€™t think itâ€™s a joke are the people who invented it.’

“‘We were never consulted on a new hire,’ added another. ‘Shouldnâ€™t they be interested in what we have to say?’

“Asked if he thought the group would have any muscle, Mr. Boccardi said, ‘Talk to me in a year.'”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.