It's official: Marcus Brauchli is out as managing editor of the Wall Street Journal. But what does it mean?

In the view of many longtime editors and reporters at the paper, Brauchli, in less than a year at the helm, has become a martyr to Rupert Murdoch's ambition, having done everything that was asked of him, only to find that it was not enough.

"The assumption here is that he was forced out," says one editor. "It was clear that Murdoch wanted to have his own people in place, and it was clear that Marcus was feeling increasingly marginalized."

A reporter said that Brauchli "seemed to be doing everything Murdoch wanted—shorter stories, broadening the coverage. It's hard to think he could've jumped much higher."

While a report in the New York Times suggests that Brauchli's resignation may have stemmed from his opposition to reducing the number of editors, that is only part of the story.

More significant, insiders say, is how Brauchli’s powers have gradually been appropriated by Robert Thomson, who came on board as publisher in December. (Unlike Gordon Crovitz, the newspaper’s previous publisher, Thomson's
position description spells out an explicit editorial role.)

News Corp. had pledged, in a formal agreement, to respect the Journal's editorial independence. The committee in charge of ensuring compliance with that agreement met today but has made no pronouncements; according to one source, Murdoch has spent much of the past two weeks huddled with lawyers to make sure he wouldn't run afoul of the pact. (Read our full coverage of Murdoch's media takeovers.)
 
While maintaining a united front publicly with his new bosses, Brauchli, says a former staffer who maintains ties to the paper, “was resistant to a lot of the things they were trying to do," such as a redesign that has relegated business news to the B and C sections of the paper. "He's been rubbing up against Thomson and Murdoch for weeks now."

Still, the former staffer adds, Brauchli would not have left of his own accord: "Marcus didn't spend 20 years managing upward to get the top job, only to walk away after a year."

Moreover, as time went on, Brauchli was increasingly being denied even the chance to object. That's been the case with the new culture section under development, the editor adds.

While Thomson and Murdoch provided plenty of input, "it just wasn't even portrayed as anything Marcus was going to have any final say on."

"He certainly had day-to-day power, but there was always the sense that there was somebody hovering above him who had veto power," the editor says.

And it would have gotten only worse: There has been much speculation at the Journal that Thomson is planning to relocate his office from the executive area on the 11th floor to the newsroom on the 9th floor.

"That's intended to be a sign," says a staffer who left recently.

A Dow Jones spokesman did not returns calls seeking comment.

Don't expect to hear Brauchli taking his complaints public. "Since the acquisition last December, the new management scrupulously has avoided imposing any political or business viewpoints on our coverage and rigorously has enforced the code of conduct," he wrote in an email to staff. "I am confident that our journalistic integrity remains intact and that News Corp. is committed to a Journal that is vibrant, vital, and preeminent in American journalism."

For now, he's staying on as a consultant, according to News Corp., and has reportedly hired Washington power lawyer Robert Barnett to oversee the details of his gradual fade from view.

Presumably, it'll include a nondisparagement clause—and a lot of money.