Another hack has turned flack, sort of, this week. Waggener Edstrom (WE), the firm known for its long-time relationship with Microsoft hired David Patton from the Wall Street Journal online, according to a release and accompanying video interview.

Patton will have the journalistic title editor-in-chief as he moves to WE’s digital division, called Studio D. WE hasn’t confirmed which clients Patton will work with first. Studio D’s About Us states that it exists to “drive influence and conversation through digital and creative engagement”. Meaning, it’s part of the competition with ad agencies, interactive firms, and other PR firms to build stuff to gain relevant attention on the web.

Patton started at the Journal almost straight out of college in 1993 and has held various positions there since including night editor during the explosion of the blogosphere in 2004, where he would contact relevant bloggers to let them know about the WSJ.com’s free content. His most recent position was Senior Editor, with a lot of bylines on the Automotive blog.