'WSJ' Reporters, in Labor Protest, Say They Won't Appear on CNBC

By: A union representing reporters at The Wall Street Journal said Wednesday its members would stop making unpaid appearances on CNBC to protest the position of the Journal's parent company, Dow Jones & Co., in contract talks.

The sudden escalation of tensions occurred after only the second meeting between Dow Jones and the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees. Dow Jones has had difficult relations with the union in the past.

E.S. Browning, the chairman of the union's bargaining committee and a financial markets reporter, said the union decided to take the step after the negotiations, which began two weeks ago, turned "ugly."

Browning, who has worked at the paper for 27 years, said the company told union negotiators that they were unwilling to discuss any of the proposals made by the union.

"To go into a meeting and be told there's not a single proposal they're willing to discuss is a pretty nasty way to start negotiations," Browning said.

In addition to suspending unpaid appearances on CNBC by Journal reporters, Browning also said union members would no longer do podcasts or Webcast interviews for the newspaper's Web site.

CNBC is owned by General Electric Co. Dow Jones, which also publishes Dow Jones Newswires and other financial publications, provides content to CNBC under an arrangements whose terms haven't disclosed.

Dow Jones released a statement through a spokesman saying that the company "is committed to conducting these negotiations in good faith and has done so in the two bargaining session held so far. As we seek an agreement that serves the interest of all parties, we intend to focus our comments at the bargaining table."