News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch
named long-time confidant Robert
Thomson managing editor of the
Wall Street Journal. He is the former editor of the
Times of London, and
former US managing editor of the
Financial Times. The
special committee set up to preserve the newspaper's editorial integrity in the
wake of News Corp.'s 2007 acquisition unanimously
approved
the appointment. Thomson will also
serve
as editor-in-chief of Dow Jones, while Leslie Hinton, Dow Jones CEO, will serve
as
Journal publisher in addition to
his existing duties.
Media critics believe
the move will hasten Murdoch's makeover of the paper, which includes
more general interest and political coverage. Some speculate that Murdoch wants the Journal to compete more directly with the New York Times.
Thomson, most recently the Journal's publisher, replaces Marcus Brauchli, who resigned
last month. The special committee protested
his resignation.
Also:
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) returned to the scene of January's
Iowa Caucus victory to tell
voters that he is “within reach” of the Democratic Presidential nomination.
Rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) told
supporters in Kentucky
that she is “winning the popular vote” and intends to stay in the race into
June. Obama is also winning
the widget campaign.
A group of powerful House Democrats sent
letters to CEOs of four top pharmaceutical companies, demanding they reduce
misleading consumer drug advertisements.
Ubisoft's North American president says
creators must market casual games.
Time Warner revealed
its plan to spin off its cable business, allowing the company to focus on TV
programming and magazines.