Since Rupert Murdoch reportedly has an "Ahab-like obsession" to destroy the NY Times and is rolling out a New York region section in the Wall Street Journal, the Times is apparently leaving nothing to chance. The Observer reports that Journal arts reporter Kate Taylor quit and is joining the Times: "Up until [Thursday], two sources said that Ms. Taylor was in the office making phone calls and sourcing up in anticipation of the New York section's launch next month. The Times, which has been under a hiring freeze for years, is clearly sending The Journal a signal by poaching one of its earliest hires." However, Times cultural editor Jon Landman claims the paper was interested in Taylor for "some time... You can't have too many good reporters." But one WSJ source said, "People here are fucking furious. She knows all the plans."