Wall Street Journal Managing Editor Brauchli Resigns

[Celebration]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aQX0zJwrYKQk&refer=news

April 22 (Bloomberg) -- Wall Street Journal Managing Editor Marcus Brauchli, the top news executive at the newspaper, resigned after less than a year in the job. A search was started for his successor.

Brauchli will stay on as a consultant to News Corp., the parent of Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co., the company said today in an e-mailed statement. His exit comes four months after News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch took control of the Journal with the $5.2 billion purchase of Dow Jones.

Brauchli's departure was announced after a meeting with the special committee set up to ensure the editorial independence of the newspaper. His exit comes as Murdoch remakes the Journal, broadening political and arts coverage to compete with the New York Times. He brought in Robert Thomson, editor of News Corp.- owned The Times in London, to be publisher.

``The handwriting was on the wall,'' said Richard Dorfman, managing director of New York-based investment firm Richard Alan Inc. ``It was a combination of Murdoch wanting to put his mark on the management team, coupled with the view from the other side that, `Things are changing and I am losing power and maybe its time to head off for greener pastures.'''