Journal Staff Uneasy as Murdoch Era Rolls On

Tensions are running high in the Wall Street Journal’s newsroom, the New Republic reports, as staffers wonder just where this Murdoch thing is going. Managing editor Marcus Brauchli’s resignation still hangs heavy in the air. Murdoch pushed Brauchli to resign, and paid him millions to sign a non-disclosure agreement. “We're a business newspaper, so we know a sell-out when we see one,” one angry staffer said.

With Brauchli gone, questions have intensified about Murdoch’s plan to turn the paper into a New York Times rival. Staffers worry they’ll lose their financial reporting edge or beloved first-page features. Big editor layoffs are rumored. As Murdoch met with the newsroom last week, “the only question people were really interested in is, 'What the f*** is going on?'” one staffer said.   (More Rupert Murdoch stories.)