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After ‘WSJ’ Deal Closes, Will Pam and Jim at Least Get Together?

As the shadow of Murdoch begins to loom over Dow Jones, the offices of The Wall Street Journal are turning into the set of The Office. At least according to today’s Times, which depicts the Journal staff reduced to a very familiar kind of gallows humor and passive-aggressive sniping. Some have been answering phones with a cheery “News Corporation!” Others, getting ready to mock the boss, have begun to mimic Rupe’s Australian accent, the same way every Californian in 2004 had an Ah-nuld impersonation. A cryptic “I fly with Leslie” poster, noticed by the Times reporter, translates to a statement of defiance: Leslie Hill, a former pilot, is a Bancroft who’s against the deal. Even the bureau chiefs are getting into the populist-outrage humor: “We will have Page 3 girls,” announced one after a conference call with Murdoch, referring to the cheesecake shots his London Sun publishes. “But in a concession, they will be dot drawings.” And it’ll only get worse: Wait till they find out they’ll be merging with the Stamford office.

Murdoch’s Arrival Worries Journal Employees [NYT]

After ‘WSJ’ Deal Closes, Will Pam and Jim at Least Get Together?