From the WSJ Opinion Archives
THINKING THINGS OVER
A Few Final Words as Editor
Thoughts on running the only editorial page that sells newspapers.
I'll write this column, God willing, for years to come. Yet this is the last one while I'm editor of The Wall Street Journal--an occasion to give some thanks and even to brag a bit.
On Jan. 1, I'll assume the exalted title of editor emeritus; Thinking Things Over is traditionally a former editor's column, under Vermont Royster, William Henry Grimes and Thomas Woodlock. I got rolling a bit early because of my record tenure of 30 years as editor and editorial page editor. My reflections on the public issues of those decades were published Nov. 20; now a few further words on journalistic stewardship.
When I took over in 1972, the editorial page was one page of a one-section paper with a maximum of 48 pages. It already had a distinguished history, however. The Journal's first two Pulitzer Prizes had been for editorial writing, to Mr. Grimes in 1947 and Mr. Royster in 1953. Our one page covered the universe, not only politics and business, but distinguished criticism of books and arts.
The one page became the editorial pages, plural, as the paper expanded to accommodate demand by readers and advertisers. In 1978 we started an extra weekly page for leisure and arts. With the advent of the two-section Journal, we started a daily op-ed page in 1981, and a daily leisure and arts page in 1983. An editorial page reporting to New York was a standard feature of The Wall Street Journal Europe from its inception in 1983, and was added to The Asian Wall Street Journal in 1984. The Weekend Journal in 1998 included much of our criticism and also a new editorial page entitled Taste.
In the electronic realm, WSJ.com, the most successful subscription site on the Internet, included the editorial page. And in the year 2000 we launched a free editorial-page site, OpinionJournal.com, an instant success in what's now called the blogosphere. And for the last year, our editorial board has been hosted by Stuart Varney Friday nights on CNBC.
For all this good fortune, my primary thanks goes to the management of the Journal and Dow Jones. Its support started with my appointment at a young age, and continued to a glittering valedictory address broadcast on C-Span this fall. I also give thanks to those who came to give plaudits, to Jack Kemp, Theodore Olson and especially Henry Kissinger, whom I met crossing swords years ago.
Outsiders will find it hard to believe the independence I've been given. Of course management does and should participate in shaping editorial policy, above all with the selection of an editor, and with ongoing comments and critiques.
Yet the last time I was asked in advance what position we'd take on a purely public issue, I distinctly remember, was the morning of Aug. 6, 1974. The Nixon "smoking gun" tapes had just been released. I'd earlier followed the late Alexander Bickel in defending the president's right to fire independent counsel Archibald Cox. My boss, Warren Phillips, was naturally curious about what his 34-year-old editor was going to say. I'd already written a lead paragraph saying that this evidence was clear enough for impeachment and that "the nation can now take this momentous step in a spirit approaching unity." That was enough for the chairman, for that issue and, it eventuated, all succeeding ones.
This translated, too, into the external support vital to anyone who traffics in controversy. We supported proposals to end fixed commissions at the New York Stock Exchange, and its chairman came to object to Mr. Phillips and me. The writer of the editorial asked nervously how it went, and I said our chairman thought the meeting lasted 20 minutes too long. I also recall an internal editors' meeting at which he commented that back in the early days a lot of people were trying to get him to fire Bartley; I responded, "you mean they've stopped."
Not, of course, that everything was sweetness and light. Our famous spat with Singapore started with an editorial; without real consultation, I was ordered to have my people apologize. This predictably fed the fires, quickly involving not only the Asian Journal but the Far Eastern Economic Review.
My remonstrances did lead to a world-wide search for a better Commonwealth libel lawyer, giving us the now-preeminent one, Geoffrey Robertson, QC. We eventually solved the Singapore problem, withdrawing our remaining circulation there, and paying damages and costs in a libel suit by Lee Kuan Yew. We've returned, and relations are good.
Management applied the Singapore lesson to a lawsuit against the European Journal in Britain by Russian tycoon Vladimir Gusinsky. We fought back--very un-British--and won a favorable settlement, with the help of my buttonholing Mr. Gusinsky personally at the Davos conference. We then republished the truth, his counsel advised him to sue again, he declined, and no further Russian suits followed.
Paul Gigot, who apologized in Singapore, now takes over this little empire as editor of the editorial page. Co-apologist Melanie Kirkpatrick is associate editor in charge of the editorials. Gordon Crovitz, first editorial page editor in Europe and point man in our famous disagreement with our own news department over Michael Milken and insider trading, now runs the electronic half of Dow Jones.
Our e-mails show that viewers have noticed the TV venture is currently in limbo; they're entitled to know we're negotiating with CNBC, an important business partner. Our program built a strongly loyal audience, but TV dictates its own priorities. Even if we fail to find a mutually satisfactory format and time slot for a new season, it's been a rewarding experience, and I'm grateful to CNBC for the opportunity.
Finally, I'm grateful to the support of all our readers. A newspaper, above all an editorial page, is a community venture in which the audience participates. I'll start my new venue by taking two weeks off, and will be back Jan. 20. So let me leave you a final thought as editor: Journalistically, my proudest boast is that I've run the only editorial page in the country that actually sells newspapers.
Mr. Bartley is editor of The Wall Street Journal. His column appears Mondays in the Journal and on OpinionJournal.com.
