Steiger on New 'WSJ': No Sign of 'Bad Rupert' Yet

The last managing editor of The Wall Street Journal not to work for Rupert Murdoch has nothing but nice things to say about what the News Corp. chief has done with the paper in the eight months since he bought it. Well, almost nothing but nice things.

"I think, as a reader, that the Journal is doing a terrific job," said Paul Steiger, who was responding to a question from the audience during last night's panel discussion on nonprofit journalism, hosted by Northwestern University's Medill Club.

"I see no evidence, nor do my friends there report any evidence, of the bad Rupert showing up, trying to move the coverage in a way that advances his business interests. So, to me, my fears haven't been realized."

In fact, Steiger saluted Murdoch for reaching into his pocket to expand the newshole and make other costly investments. "I know something about the economics of that paper. It is not making money. He is pouring money into that paper to try and upgrade it."

Steiger wasn't completely without criticisms to offer, saying, "Page one is a work in progress. They're still figuring out what sort of mix they want it to be."

But he followed that up by praising the paper's return to a six-column front, blaming himself for "stupidly" getting rid of the format in a 2007 redesign. "Five columns -- that was wrong."

I'll have more on the panel in a subsequent post, including Steiger's comments on ProPublica, his nonprofit investigative journalism start-up.