The Wall Street Journal plans to hire a small local news staff in New York, covering traditional city desk beats like courthouses, City Hall and the state capital, according to people briefed on the plans.
The push into metropolitan news, which would involve about a dozen new positions, is part of The Journal’s effort to create a New York edition, first reported last summer as a project that was focused mostly on increased arts coverage. The edition could begin early next year.
It also reflects Rupert Murdoch’s mandate to make The Journal more of a general-interest newspaper, and a more direct competitor to The New York Times. Since Mr. Murdoch’s News Corporation bought The Journal almost two years ago, it has pushed business news, its traditional staple, farther back into the paper, while adding new features like sports coverage.
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