'WSJ' Union Chief: No Surprise Murdoch Hires a News Corp. Editor

By: Joe Strupp The head of The Wall Street Journal's largest union says it's no surprise that News Corp. veteran Robert Thomson was tapped as the paper's new top editor, and said it remains to be seen if the choice is a positive or negative.

"This is what happens when you spend $5 billion to buy a product, you will put your people in charge," said Steve Yount, president of the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees Local 1096, which represents some 2,000 Dow Jones employees. "Everyone following this expected at some point there would be a News Corp. guy who would be managing editor."

That "guy" is Thomson, the former editor of Murdoch's The Times of London who became publisher in December, shortly after Murdoch purchased Dow Jones. He replaces Marcus Brauchli, who stepped down several weeks ago.

Yount said observers in and out of the paper should not have had any illusions that Murdoch would hire someone who was not known to him or his company.

"It is a decision that the owner makes. I am sure reporters and editors will continue to do the job they are committed to do. These are the things that are going to happen.

"Whether this is good, bad or indifferent for the product remains to be seen," he added. "There are people who are still upset they reduced the size of the paper, there are still people who are upset they put color on the front pages."

Yount said that Murdoch's experience as a successful newsman indicates he is not seeking to hurt the Journal by hiring Thomson, or anyone else: "I think Rupert Murdoch is a very savvy newspaperman. He will make decisions that will sell more copies. There will be an updating of the paper. I don?t know if those changes will change the integrity."

Asked if Murdoch's ownership thus far has made the paper better or worse, Yount said, "He hasn?t placed naked women on Page 3, is that an encouraging sign?"

The Thomson appointment apparently occurred with the blessing of the so-called editorial committee for independence, which was created as part of the Murdoch purchase to review such editorial changes. The panel, each paid $100,000 annually, reportedly knew about the appointment for a week and gave it a unanimous approval.

"I have no insight into that committee, I don't know what kind of independence they?ve got," Yount said. "Rupert Murdoch is not the kind of a guy who is going to agree to an arrangement that is not going to let him run his newspaper. How difficult is this committee going to be if Rupert Murdoch is going to run the paper?"

As for his members, who signed a new contract last fall that runs through 2010, Yount says their view seems to be: "buckle down and do your job. I haven't seen any feel among the widespread segment of the newsroom to make a big deal out of this."