WSJ's DC coverage turns pro-business, anti-government

David Carr of The New York Times writes about the obvious shift in The Wall Street Journal‘s coverage out of Washington, which has become more pro-business and more anti-government.

Carr writes, “In response to questions about bias in the newspaper, a Journal spokesman sent along the following statement: ‘The Journal has always provided its readers with unique, objective news reporting from our Washington Bureau.’

“None of the reporters involved in those articles spoke to me, but several others did.

“‘A lot of it is about what goes into the pipeline and then what does, and does not, come out,’ said a reporter who works at the Washington bureau and who, like others, did not want to be identified out of concern for retribution. The reporter said articles at The Wall Street Journal ended up looking out of step with other coverage because an agenda may have been at work.

“Tension between Washington bureaus and headquarters is a common feature of newspapers, and none of the people I spoke to suggested that either Mr. Thomson or Mr. Baker lacked savvy as journalists or leaders — only that ideology was baked into the coverage through headlines, assignments and editing in a way that had never occurred in the past.”

Read more here.