Want to Head Up the WSJ’s Moscow Bureau? Speaking Russian Not Required

Those looking to spew more gossip about Russia have a golden opportunity to do so.

Here are the requirements for Bureau Chief, Moscow in MOSCOW, Russia position.

• The WSJ is “looking for someone who can lead wide-ranging reportage — delving deeply into the economic underpinnings of Russian power and Mr. Putin’s own grip on domestic politics, getting inside Russia’s hacking complex and chronicling Moscow’s activities in the Mideast and elsewhere. “
• The “central goal will be explicating Russia’s strategic aims and exploring the country’s fraught relations with the Trump administration amid American officials’ assertions that Moscow used a campaign of hacking and disinformation to try to sway last year’s presidential elections.”
• Another goal is “looking at Putin’s role as a champion of so-called illiberal democracy who has become a beacon for right-wing politicians across Europe and even in the U.S.”

Bias Required, Russian Language Skills Not

Bias is not only welcome, it’s a requirement based on this job description statement: “His [Putin’s] traditional conservatism of blood and religion resonates amid economic uncertainty.”

Don’t speak Russian? Don’t rule yourself out: “Strong Russian language skills are a distinct advantage,” not a mandatory requirement.

Have you ever been to Russia? If not, don’t worry, that’s not a requirement either.

ZeroHedge kicked off his coverage of the story as follows: “Imagine if a major foreign newspaper – let’s say based in Germany or Russia or somewhere in Europe – hired journalists to cover United States politics, culture, and the economy, and sent them to its bureau in Washington D.C., but they couldn’t speak English and perhaps had never visited America even once in their lives.” 

Real Requirement

Reading between the lines, I question the need to “delve deeply into the economic underpinnings of Russian power.” It seems to me that someone who has never been to Russia and cannot speak the language just might have a time accurately doing that. They might have an equally hard time “getting inside Russia’s hacking complex”.

Thus, the key need cannot be one of accuracy. Rather, it must be to produce the type of political stories the WSJ seeks: Nonsense that cannot be proven as such.

The WSJ does not want any fiascos like we have seen at CNN and the Washington Post.

Some see things even more forcefully.

Got What It Takes?

If you can make up stories with the best of them, and not get caught, you have an excellent career opportunity staring you square in the face.

Apply today!

Mike “Mish” Shedlock