Tech & Biz

Wall Street Journal's Managing Editor to Leave Post

by Dave Keating | April 22, 2008 at 01:47 am

2079 views | 10 Recommendations | 2 comments

In a surprising development, the Wall Street Journal is reporting on its web sire that the paper’s managing editor, Marcus Brauchli, is planning to resign after less than a year on the job. The move comes four months after Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, the powerful owner of Fox News and Sky TV, completed its acquisition of the company.

This week an article in Newsweek disclosed the full extent of how involved Murdoch has become in the daily operation of the paper, and how he is crafting a drastically new direction for the paper. People are certain to speculate that Brauchli's departure is part of Murdoch's purge.

Marcus Brauchli is expected to resign as managing editor of The Wall Street Journal after 11 months in the job, and an announcement could come as early as Tuesday, according to people familiar with the situation.

Marcus Brauchli
The impending departure would come just four months after the Journal's parent, Dow Jones & Co., was acquired by News Corp. for $5.16 billion.

The Journal's publisher, Robert Thomson, may take over as interim managing editor of the paper, say these people. Despite the publisher title, Mr. Thomson already was involved in overseeing editorial matters for Dow Jones properties such as the Journal, newswires and Barron's magazine. A search for a new managing editor was expected to begin shortly, with candidates coming from both inside and outside the paper.

Mr. Brauchli is expected to remain with News Corp. It wasn't clear whether his role would be as a consultant or an executive. A person familiar with the negotiations called the decision "amicable."