Wall Street Journal Newspaper

Rowland Schaefer, chief executive of Pembroke Pines, Fla.-based retailer Claire's Stores Inc., did something last week that newspaper companies everywhere can only hope is the start of a trend. Schaefer bought a quarter-page ad in the Wall Street Journal to say, in essence, that he didn't know why his stock has sunk. "As you all know," a frustrated Schaefer wrote in an open letter to shareholders, "Claire's Stores shares have suffered a dramatic decline in value during the past two months. . . .

In a battle that might be headlined the dachshund versus the Doberman, a small but respected monthly magazine about California politics is suing the mighty Wall Street Journal over the use of its name. On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal launched a new section on California news titled "California Journal." The special section will be delivered each week to the newspaper's 230,000 readers in the Golden State.

A judge in Sacramento on Thursday barred the Wall Street Journal from using the name "California Journal" for its weekly package of Golden State business and financial news. The order, issued by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Earl Warren Jr., came at the request of a monthly political magazine based in Sacramento, which has published under the name California Journal for more than 25 years.

A judge in Sacramento on Thursday barred the Wall Street Journal from using the name "California Journal" for its weekly package of Golden State business and financial news. The order, issued by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Earl Warren Jr., came at the request of a monthly political magazine based in Sacramento, which has published under the name California Journal for more than 25 years.

An appeals judge Tuesday refused to overturn a court order prohibiting the Wall Street Journal from using the name "California Journal" on its pages devoted to business and financial news in the Golden State. The order was issued at the request of a Sacramento-based political magazine that has used the name since 1970.

Marcus Brauchli is quitting as managing editor of the Wall Street Journal after less than a year on the job, a person familiar with the matter said late Monday. Brauchli's departure, first reported on Time magazine's website, comes four months after the Journal's parent company, Dow Jones & Co., was acquired by Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate, News Corp.

Emphasizing the importance of new media to its future, the Wall Street Journal Wednesday named as its managing editor 45-year-old Marcus W. Brauchli, who led the redesign unveiled this year to save money and more sharply define the missions of the newspaper's print and online versions. Publisher L. Gordon Crovitz's selection of Brauchli ended a two-way competition -- "the bake-off," as some staffers facetiously called it -- to succeed 16-year veteran Paul E.

Reporters at the Wall Street Journal, who pride themselves on their paper's thoughtful and high-quality journalism, reacted with near horror Tuesday at the prospect of having Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. as an owner.