WSJ plans to hire a dozen reporters to cover New York

Richard Perez-Pena of the New York Times is reporting that The Wall Street Journal has plans to hire a dozen reporters to cover New York.

Perez-Pena writes that the reporters will be a “small local news staff in New York, covering traditional city desk beats like courthouses, City Hall and the state capital, according to people briefed on the plans.

“The push into metropolitan news, which would involve about a dozen new positions, is part of The Journal’s effort to create a New York edition, first reported almost two months ago as a project that was focused mostly on increased arts coverage. The edition could begin early next year.

“It also reflects Rupert Murdoch’s mandate to make The Journal more of a general-interest newspaper, and a more direct competitor to The New York Times.”

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