Murdoch Names Thomson New Journal Editor

Rupert Murdoch has named Wall Street Journal publisher Robert J. Thomson as its top editor, reports the New York Times. Thomson, whom Murdoch made publisher just five months ago, was previously the top editor of Murdoch's Times of London. His appointment is expected to speed the pace of change at the paper, in the wake of the resignation of former managing editor Marcus Brauchli, who was forced out last month.

Thomson, like Murdoch, is an Australian native with a Chinese wife and two young children, the Journal reports; the men are close and the families have vacationed together. He has also been the US editor of the Financial Times and a foreign correspondent. Thomson will be managing editor of the newspaper and editor in chief of Dow Jones, the Journal's parent company; the appointment was approved by the committee established to protect the Journal's editorial integrity, which was not consulted in Brauchli's departure. (More Rupert Murdoch stories.)