A great deal of ink has been given to Rupert Murdoch's now apparently successful bid for Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Part of this is because the news media love to cover ... the news media.

However, we are also talking about one of the best newspapers in the country and, importantly, a place that's always been a dream for aspiring writers in small and midsized newsrooms everywhere.

The New York Times may be the paper of record, but the Journal has always attracted those who see themselves as writers. Its great creativity and willingness to take risks with its page one stories -- particularly those in the center column -- gave heart to hardworking scribes everywhere.

I posted the following this evening on my NewsNosh blog. I think it's relevant here as well:

The journalism world is positively atwitter today with the news that two well-known reporters have given up their positions at The Washington Post for the brave, new world of an online startup.

Here's some of the reporting.  The New York Times told it this way:

The Washington Post, which has long prided itself on the depth and breadth of its coverage of national politics, lost two of its top political reporters yesterday to a fledgling multiplatform news organization, albeit one with deep pockets.

When I first heard about The Washington Post's decision to allow comments on all of its online news stories, I was taken aback. Pleased. But surprised, nonetheless...

During my career as a journalist, we were just getting comfortable with the idea of reporters' e-mail addresses being offered to readers. Broadly allowing comments on news stories raises the bar much higher, creating real conversations with readers and raising fascinating possibilities for communicators.

In a big step to foster interactivity with readers, The Washington Post's website -- washingtonpost.com -- is allowing reader comments on all of its stories.

According to a post in Online Media Daily:

The move comes after some early difficulties with users leaving inappropriate comments on Washington Post writers' blogs, which led to a temporary suspension of the commenting function. "We've rebounded after some early bumps in our efforts to make washingtonpost.com more interactive, and comments are just one of many reader-focused initiatives that have become popular and successful additions to the site," Jim Brady, the executive editor of Washingtonpost.com, said in a statement.