WSJ moves former editor Baker to opinion page

Gerard Baker

The Wall Street Journal has moved former editor Gerard Baker to its opinion page after complaints from the union that represents journalists in the newsroom, reports Marc Tracy of the New York Times.

Tracy reports, “The letter, from the board of the Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees, the union that represents Journal staff members, criticized a column by Mr. Baker on race and accused him of tweeting in a way that went against the paper’s social media policy.

“While Mr. Baker expresses opinions in a weekly column, called Editor at Large, The Journal had classified him as a member of the news division, just as it had during his five-and-a-half-year run as the editor in chief.

“On Tuesday, The Journal reassigned Mr. Baker, formally making him a member of the opinion staff, which is led by the editorial page editor, Paul A. Gigot, and is run separately from the news department. Those who work on the opinion side do not have to abide by the rules that apply to the paper’s news reporters and editors. They have more leeway in The Journal’s pages and on social media.”

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.