Go to the online Wall Street Journal and (if you're a subscriber) click on the top story. The scoop (right now it's the immigration bill) is being brought to you by the Associated Press.

Why? According to a message posted on Poynter Online and released by the Newspaper Guild, the entire U.S. reporting staff of the Wall Street Journal is staging a walk-out (or a not-show-up, I guess). "The Wall Street Journal's long tradition of independence, which has been the hallmark of our news coverage for decades, is threatened today. We, along with hundreds of other Dow Jones employees represented by the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees, want to demonstrate our conviction that the Journal's editorial integrity depends on an owner committed to journalistic independence," they write.

Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones & Company Inc (NYSE: DJ) is close to closing a deal with rowdy potential daddy News Corporation (NYSE: NWS). The reporters are evidently worried about being handed pink slips when the deal goes through; they say this step is a reminder to "Dow Jones management that the quality of its publications depends on a top-quality professional staff." They'll be back at their desks this afternoon.

I guess a real news hound can't stand missing a whole day's worth of news. Interestingly, the bloggers are still on duty, though it appears my most-read, David Gaffen, is on vacation this week.