Why the 'Journal's' Publisher Bailed

Did Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal putsch end up driving off someone he would prefer to have kept?

Last week saw the resignations of both Dow Jones CEO Richard Zannino, who was replaced by News Corp. executive Les Hinton, and Journal publisher Gordon Crovitz, who'll be succeeded by former Times of London editor Robert Thomson.

Though Zannino told The New York Times it was his decision to step down, his exit looked to be a textbook case of a new owner putting his own guy in place.

But Crovitz is a different story. Though Thomson will inherit his title, his job description will be substantially different: He'll oversee editorial matters, not business.

So why send Crovitz packing without truly replacing him? In fact, says a source with detailed knowledge of the Journal's operations, that was never the plan. Thomson's job was originally conceived as overseeing both Crovitz and managing editor Marcus Brauchli, but Crovitz balked at the idea of reporting to Thomson rather than to the CEO. (Crovitz never returned a call for comment.) Thomson's lack of business-side experience suggests that the Journal will need to find someone to assume Crovitz's responsibilities, and fast.