I Know It’s August, But…

Did The Wall Street Journal really need to go six columns with a picture of the Colombia plane crash that killed one person?

Here’s what the paper looks like above the fold today:

“Newsstand sales, Robert! Newsstand sales!”

News judgment be damned. Much less a core old Journal non-news story.

These guys think they’re spicing up the page, but they’re really just making it dreary and skippable.

Ryan Chittum is a former Wall Street Journal reporter, and deputy editor of The Audit, CJR’s business section. If you see notable business journalism, give him a heads-up at rc2538@columbia.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @ryanchittum.