Paid Off And Gagged, WSJ Honchos Betray Treasured Trust

More top Wall Street Journal execs have been spit out by the Murdoch machine, and the staff they leave behind is furious they’re leaving so quietly. Zipping their mouths was part of hefty severance packages, David Carr notes in the New York Times, and as the line evaporates between editorial standards and owner's whims, the protectors of journalistic independence are missing in action.

“Here you have two people who are icons of freedom of expression and they can’t talk because of non-disclosure agreements they signed,” one reporter huffed. “It was disgusting. They were talking about preserving the culture of the Wall Street Journal when it’s clear that the buffer is gone and that culture is history.” (More Wall Street Journal stories.)