Murdoch’s Shadow Looms at Journal

Rupert Murdoch is on a yacht in the Mediterranean, but his presence is already being felt at the newspaper in lower Manhattan he doesn't own yet.  The media baron rolled up his sleeves and called three reporters at the Wall Street Journal—which he bought for $5 billion last month—asking them to reconsider leaving the paper.

Some at the paper took the move as a sign of Murdoch’s commitment to maintaining quality; others as evidence that he can't keep from interfering in the newsroom he's agreed to stay out of. But the Journal, currently embroiled in union contract talks, waits to see what lies ahead. Said departing reporter Tara Parker-Pope, who got one of the calls, "It's always been a great newspaper—and now it's a great newspaper with resources." (More Rupert Murdoch stories.)