'WSJ' Quotes Murdoch Critic: 'Thanks a Lot, Rupert'

How bad could things be at The Wall Street Journal if you can still make fun of the boss in print? Or at least quote people making fun of the boss, which is what Katherine Rosman does in her A-hed on Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre's subversive use of closing-credit "vanity cards."

Typically, a vanity card is just an image identifying the production company behind the show. But Lorre uses his to express personal sentiments and tweak people in power -- people like CBS executives and, yes, Rupert Murdoch. (He also posts the messages on his website.)

His most recent musing, quoted in today's leder, started this way:

When I began writing these vanity cards, I never in my wildest dreams imagined that one day they would be the subject of an extensive article in The Wall Street Journal (or as I like to call it, The Depressingly Inevitable Next Step Toward the End of a Free Press in America, Thanks a Lot Rupert, Journal).