Robert Thomson Dials Journal Back to 0.0

When Robert Thomson met with the reporters and editors of the Wall Street Journal's Money & Investing desk last week, he wasn't shy about at least one thing he planned to tear up from the old regime.

Namely, the plot to institute "Journal 3.0" that was put forward by former publisher Gordon Crovitz.

The initiative was meant to populate the front page with more "what-it-means" stories, on the assumption that like The New Yorker, the Journal would not become a first-read for straight national news.

“Thomson was very critical of it and said it made the newspaper less newsy,” said a reporter who was present.

It's actually a big point: a reversal of the Journal's self-perception as an adjunct to, rather than a competitor to, say ... The New York Times.

As retired Journal staffer Glynn Mapes noted to us a couple of weeks ago (Mr. Mapes was Page One editor at the Journal for more than 10 years): “It’s like a real newspaper now, which we never thought of ourselves, especially on the front page."

Apparently, not real enough!