Writing the News While You Make It

Ever get a hunch some journalists are having more fun than others?

That's exactly the feeling you've been getting if you've been watching the WSJ's Joann Lublin lately. In fact, her piece yesterday -- "For Boards, Firing Or Keeping a CEO Can Be Tough Call" -- gave Jack Flack an embarrassing case of the giggles.

"Deciding whether to unseat a leader poses a dicey dilemma for directors. Wait too long, and they risk letting a bad situation get worse. Act too quickly, and they may short-circuit a potential recovery and create a demoralizing power vacuum."

What's funny about that?

Because deciding if/when you should bullet your chief executive is now often driven by if/when Lublin gives you notice through the pages of the Journal. In fact, two of the CEOs she mentioned yesterday can count Lublin-linked scoops as key plot points in their demise.

Recently departed Sprint Nextel CEO Gary Forsee smelled smoke when he read that one of his big shareholders was calling for his ouster, and then noticed the fire escape had collapsed when he then read the rest of his board was looking for a successor.

Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo must be wondering if he's living the same story formula, given Saturday's report that shareholder CtW Investment was calling for his head.

All of this conjures an image of a feather-mouthed cat typing dispassionate analysis about the sad plight of certain pigeons.