It’s, ahem, interesting to see Hero Harry Markopolos’s take on Murdoch as the Journal takeover was proceeding. This in an email to reporter John Wilke (warning: big PDF):
Murdoch would be poison for the paper. As far as editorial freedom, the WSJ’s editorials are so bad right now I actually think Murdoch could only improve them. It’s the WSJ’s unsurpassed content outside of those whack-job editorials that I worry about. WSJ reporters are the world’s best business reporters bar none. If the WSJ falls prey to Murdoch, that’ll leave only the FT and the Economist as world-class repositories for serious, insightful financial journalism. You guys really need to start slamming Murdoch on the front pages.
And as a reporter there at the time, I can tell you nine out of ten news staffers agreed with every word of that.
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.