Journal, Murdoch Agree on Oversight

JOURNAL, MURDOCH AGREE ON OVERSIGHT
[SOURCE: Washington Post 6/29, AUTHOR: Frank Ahrens]
An editorial board overseeing the Wall Street Journal under a Rupert Murdoch ownership would have five members jointly chosen by Murdoch's News Corp. and the Journal's parent company, Dow Jones. The structure of the board, meant to prevent Murdoch from meddling in the Journal's newsroom and maintain its editorial independence, was finalized, according to sources close to the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because talks are ongoing. The board would have the power to approve the hiring and firing of the Journal's managing editor and editorial page editor, according to the sources, but not the editor of Dow Jones Newswires, a position included in an earlier proposal. The board also would have the power to approve changes to "conditions of employment or changes to authority of key senior editors," including the hiring and firing of subordinates, managing the newsroom budget and determining news coverage. Presumably, such an arrangement would allow the Journal's managing editor and editorial page editor to appeal to the editorial board if they felt that Murdoch was telling them how to spend money or which stories to cover or not cover. The decisions of the board would be binding.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/28/AR200706...
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