A Peaceful Transition of Power: No Tanks Seen in WSJ Newsroom

The story in the Wall Street Journal last week on Robert Thomson’s ascension to editor-in-chief of that paper once again seems accurate and fair enough, even as it paints him as a likeable, intellectual guy, with a “self-effacing and humorous style” and a clever vocabulary to match. His experience as a foreign correspondent in Beijing and Tokyo counts for a bit in my book, though I’d have a greater appreciation for time spent in hot spots like Beirut or other dangerous locales in the Middle East. From what little I’ve read of Mr. Thomson (and believe me, it’s little), it seems that I might actually like the guy. Plus, he has cool glasses.

But what does his newly-started tenure mean for the future of the Wall Street Journal? It’s easy enough to balance out your opinion pages with opposition viewpoints, as the Journal has done with a recent op-ed piece from Joe Biden and the addition of a left-leaning columnist in the form of Thomas Frank; what I want to know is what Mr. Thomson will do to resist the typical urges that motivate newspapermen to adulterate their media products. Readers of the Wall Street Journal don’t want or need shorter news stories. They don’t want or need stories that limit themselves to one page. And they don’t want or need splashy front pages that are redolent of Fox News and CNN with their multiple news tickers, soft news bites and general information overload that makes even the most ADD-addled among us go make another pot of coffee in order to keep up.

The Journal will also soon be adding a quarterly luxury and style magazine. I know many of us out there can’t wait to thumb through page after page of hot, aloof women and the men who rule them, as well as full color ads for multi-million dollar condos and cars in New York, Phoenix and Miami. I might permit myself to longingly stare at those ads from time to time, like a hungry unemployed guy staring in through the windows of a fancy restaurant.

Well, anyway, everyone’s happy now, as evidenced by the handsome hedcuts (the unique line drawings of people that the Wall Street Journal is known for) of Mr. Thomson and a smiling Leslie Hinton, now Journal publisher. There seems to have been a little bit of placating the Special Committee, the oversight group charged with ensuring the editorial integrity of the Journal, in order to smooth the transition of power. Murdoch and company set them at ease by acknowledging that the Marcus Brauchli departure could have been handled differently. While this might ensure a continuing balance in the editorial sections of the paper and a check on rash personnel changes, what should also matter to the Special Committee is whether the Wall Street Journal will maintain its reputation for accurate and thorough reporting on the significant issues of our day.