Marcus Brauchli, CC ‘83, former Spec writer, and managing editor of the Wall Street Journal, announced today that he’ll be stepping down from his oh-so-coveted post less than a year after he took it on. In a memo to the WSJ newsroom—which instantaneously found its way to every news Web site on God’s green Earth—Brauchli spoke fondly of his time at the Journal, but said that “now that the ownership transition has taken place, I have come to believe the new owners should have a managing editor of their choosing. So, today, I am resigning.”
For those of you who don’t keep tabs on the wonderful world of media moguldom, that’d be Rupert Murdoch he’s referring to. Murdoch took ownership of Dow Jones & Co. late last year after a lengthy series of negotiations with the Bancroft family, the paper’s longtime stewards. (Incidentally, he’s currently preparing to buy Newsday from an even more batshit crazy mogul by the name of Sam Zell.) At the time of the takeover, Murdoch called concerns that he would interfere with the editorial independence of the Journal “unfounded,” but I have to say that this isn’t a particularly encouraging sign. The Times article cites four anonymous sources as disagreeing on whether Brauchli’s departure was forced or out of frustration. Either way, one thing seems clear: things weren’t working out with Murdoch.
So I guess that brings the number of out-of-work journalists to, uh, pretty much all of them.