We're hearing a wild rumor that Jane Friedman was just fired from her perch atop News Corp.'s HarperCollins. If true, this would sure lend a hefty dose of irony to the publishing executive's quote in the Observer today, gleaned from an industry party on the Twentieth Century Fox lot Saturday: "I love being CEO of HarperCollins!" Anyone hearing anything? UPDATE: The Observer quotes a source confirming Friedman's departure, and the Wall Street Journal is reporting the exit as fact. Two strange things about these reports:

The Journal piece mentions this post, but doesn't attribute any sources for the heart of its story — that Friedman is definitely leaving. Needless to say, the paper must have its own sources, it would never run a piece based on a report from us or anyone else, at least without making that clear. It's unusual for the paper to use this sort of blind sourcing.

The Observer's source claims that Friedman left of her own accord, and has been planning to exit for some time. How weird, then, that she made her "I love being CEO" proclamation Saturday. Apparently it was some sort of joke.

A formal announcement is supposedly on the way, according to the Observer:

A post that appeared tonight on Gawker.com cited a rumor saying she had been fired. That rumor has apparently moved Ms. Friedman and News Corp to bump up their official announcement.