Well, today’s the day that the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) tries to stick a knife in the back of the venerable “grey old lady,” the New York Times (NYT).  The fight is on.  The WSJ today launches the New York City metro section, to compete directly with the NYT.  The WSJ was purchased in 2007 by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, also home to Fox News.  It became the national circulation leader, overtaking USA Today, last year and now wants to bury the Times in New York.  Murdoch says the Times is overly liberal and no longer provides good local coverage.  The Times was on the verge of going out of business last year and had to get a bailout from a private investor.  This fight is something it doesn’t need.  But a war is a war and it must be fought.  Murdoch is going after the critical ad revenue from Bergdorf Goodman and all the other retailers, and he’s getting it.  This could mean the end of the NYTimes, or it could mean a very expensive experiment for Rupert.  Either way, it will be fun to watch.  Rupert’s new WSJ is this week’s Strategy of the Week.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is in a tough re-election campaign, fighting to stave off a Labour defeat in the polls for the first time since Tony Blair took over from the Conservatives.  Despite being down in the polls, he’s been creeping back against the Tories.  But he’s still behind.  So, what to do?  Well, call in the Royal Navy! And that’s what Brown has done.  He’s dispatching (I think that’s the right word) navy ships to the continent to pick up stranded Brits who are grounded by the volcanic ash that has closed most major airports.  The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and HMS Ocean are heading across the channel to pick up the passengers and bring them home.  It’s reminiscent of the great Dunkirk rescue, in 1940, when the British Army was rescued by hundreds of naval craft and small boats, and 300,000 soldiers were saved.  In this case Brown wants to bring home 150,000.  It’s Churchillian.  And reminding people of Churchill just before an election can’t hurt.

After several months of almost always doing the wrong thing, Tiger Woods finally figured out how to manage the shark pack, aka the media, in the wake of his serial adultery.  Yesterday, Tiger held a press conference at the Masters, and he finally managed his crisis in a professional way.  First, he had over 200 reporters but used Masters rules to keep out the reporters who might go over the top.  Second, he didn’t try to stage it but let it flow freely.  Third, he answered the questions with honesty and admitted his responsibility.  Yes, he looked humiliated, but it turned the tide for him, something his last press conference – the one that looked like a funeral – didn’t do.  The highly respectful media crowd didn’t ask the nasty questions and let Tiger say things like, “I’m just gonna go out there and try to win.”  The appearance almost made the reporters look like voyeurs and took some of the pressure off the world’s greatest golfer.  Now, finally, Tiger can just play golf.  Of course he will now have to deal with the highly focused Swedish anger, but that is now a private family matter.  The only problem – it’s three months late, but better late than never.