Casual Friday Now Every Day for 'WSJ's' Brauchli

Losing his job doesn't seem to have put a damper on Marcus Brauchli's social life. Brauchli was at a dinner to honor Rupert Murdoch the night news broke that he was stepping down as managing editor of The Wall Street Journal; two nights later, he attended a send-off for Stuart Karle, the paper's general counsel; the following evening, he hit the Overseas Press Club awards, with his predecessor, Paul Steiger, and his sort-of successor, Robert Thomson; and last night, he turned up at a party to celebrate the publication of a book by the Journal's Atlanta bureau chief, Douglas A. Blackmon.

Brauchli politely declined to be interviewed, but he seemed, sartorially, to be adapting to his new role quickly: While most everyone else was in jackets and ties, he sported a black nylon windbreaker and backpack. Upon spying him, one partygoer was overheard remarking to a friend, "He was the second most powerful man in journalism, until last Sunday."

Brauchli arrived too late to catch Blackmon reading two powerful passages from the book, Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II. But there were plenty of other Journal types on hand, including Nik Deogun and Laurie Hays, who co-hosted the party (along with Portfolio's Ken Wells and agent David Black), wine columnist John Brecher and fashion reporter Teri Agins. Blackmon alluded to the air of uncertainty hanging over them all in his speech, saying, "It's been so incredibly wondrous being at the paper. I don't know how wondrous it'll be going forward...but I'm optimistic."