The WSJ’s Features Fracas

Last month, in a move that drew little attention at the time, The Wall Street Journal’s top editor, Emma Tucker, carried out another significant restructuring at the business broadsheet that resulted in at least a half-dozen layoffs. This time, Tucker trained her sights on the features department, a section long overseen by Mike Miller, a 42-year veteran of the Rupert Murdoch–owned newspaper.

In a brief note to staff, Tucker announced Miller’s departure, followed shortly by a separate memo explaining that the overhaul of the section would lead to layoffs. “A restructure of this scale means saying goodbye to valued friends and colleagues,” Tucker wrote, thanking “all of those departing for their dedication to The Journal.”

In place of Miller, Tucker elevated Sarah Ball, naming her features coverage chief, a title she will hold while also retaining her role as the top editor of the Style section, including her position as editor in chief of The WSJ Magazine. Tucker praised Ball, a Condé Nast veteran who joined The Journal in 2018 and has steadily amassed power in recent years, as having “sharp journalistic instincts,” crediting her with having “transformed the magazine into an authority on style, culture, and entertainment.”

What Tucker’s memo did not mention, however, is just how polarizing Ball has been as a manager, with the Style section rocked by turbulence under her leadership amid efforts to reengineer it for a digital future. This story is based on the accounts of more than a half-dozen current and former Journal staffers.