Tag Archives: Wall Street Journal
WSJ names senior editor for Europe, Middle East and Africa
by Chris Roush
Thorold Barker, the Wall Street Journal editor who oversees coverage of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, sent out the following staff promotion on Tuesday morning:
I am delighted to announce that Bruce Orwall is appointed Senior Editor, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Bruce’s new role is a pivotal step in the integration of the European news organization as we focus on building our local audience across all platforms, while also boosting the quality of our news and analysis in the region for global readers.
He will lead the news operations of the combined WSJ and Newswires teams. Bureau chiefs in the region will report to him on day-to-day news-related matters, as will the London-based editors responsible for financial, corporate and political/economic coverage.
Bruce has been the Wall Street Journal’s London Bureau Chief since 2009. In London, he has led a wide array of coverage from Libor manipulation and the WikiLeaks saga to News Corp.’s phone hacking scandal, the 2012 Summer Olympics and a royal wedding.
From 2004 to 2009, Bruce was the Los Angeles Bureau Chief, overseeing areas including the entertainment business, immigration, the aerospace and defense industries and gambling. Prior to that, he was the West Coast Entertainment Editor, overseeing coverage of the media business in L.A. while continuing to work as a reporter covering Walt Disney Co. and other Hollywood entities. He joined the Journal in 1995, initially covering the casino and hotel industries.
Bruce came to the Journal from the St. Paul Pioneer Press, where he worked from 1987 to 1995, and The Herald (Everett, WA) where he began his career in 1984. He is a graduate of the University of Washington.
Please join me in congratulating Bruce on his new role.
Marketwatch EIC Krim named WSJ’s tech editor/SF bureau chief
by Chris Roush
Wall Street Journal managing editor Gerard Baker sent out the following staff promotion on Monday:
I’m delighted to announce that Jonathan Krim is appointed Technology Editor and San Francisco Bureau Chief for The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones.
In his new role, Jonathan will lead our global coverage of technology and drive expansion of tech readership around the world. The Journal’s unrivalled global reach makes us uniquely placed to produce the most comprehensive, lively and authoritative reporting of this most important business sector. From breaking news in real time on some of the best-known companies in the world to providing the most insightful analysis of where tech is headed to providing fast and in-depth reporting on tech finance and innovation, Jonathan will lead an expanded team to ever greater journalistic dominance.
Jonathan is an experienced journalist with a rich background in technology and general news coverage. He spent 17 years at the San Jose Mercury News in Silicon Valley, where, among other roles, he oversaw business and technology coverage. Among his many successes, he led prize-winning coverage of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos’s international finances and the northern California earthquake of 1989. He also covered technology policy for The Washington Post.
Jonathan is a digital innovator and has successfully managed major online publications. Most recently, he oversaw Marketwatch, where, during his two-year tenure, site visits increased nearly 50%. Prior to his stint at Marketwatch, Jonathan was Deputy Managing Editor for washingtonpost.com and Senior Deputy Managing Editor for WSJ.com.
Jonathan will report to Dennis Berman, Business Editor for Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal.
Hey WSJ reporters, wear some makeup when you go on video
by Chris Roush
Wall Street Journal deputy managing editor Matt Murray and head of video operations Chris Cramer sent out the following to the staff on Monday:
Video continues to become a bigger, more vital part of how we deliver news to our audience, and we continue to refine our video offerings in what is increasingly a highly competitive environment. “WSJ Live,” as we call our video output, generates programming for 30 different platforms including WSJ.com and from Apple TV to Xbox. Monthly video views hit 35 million in 2012.
Many of you have embraced our video revolution, and as this tremendous growth continues, we anticipate an ever-larger number of reporters and editors will be called on to deliver news this way, just as we do on other platforms.
In that light, we want to remind those appearing on camera that you should take into consideration your appearance both in terms of journalistic content and on-air presentation.
People are watching – and they are watching you. All of us appearing on-air should take care to present ourselves in the best light possible, and that includes physical appearance. As many of our regular guests already know, neat and professional dress, combed hair and a quick visit to our resident makeup artist on the 6th floor is encouraged before each appearance for both men and women – even for just a quick dash of powder. You want the spotlight focused on your stellar journalism – not shining off your forehead.
For those of you in 1211 Avenue of the Americas office, please ask the producer booking you to schedule a couple of minutes in makeup before an appearance. We fully understand and appreciate the deadline pressure you are under and will make you camera ready in moments. If you’re in a bureau or coming to us remotely, please keep the above guidelines in mind prior to your appearance.
If you have questions about any aspect of presentation, please contact Andy Regal, Joanne Po or Wendy Bounds.
Some serious love for WSJ’s MoneyBeat
by Chris Roush
Joshua Brown of The Reformed Broker has praise for The Wall Street Journal’s new blog called MoneyBeat.
Brown writes, “In an era when everyone in financial media is spreading out their resources and chasing new verticals for pageviews on a quest to gain “traction” among this or that ancillary audience, the Wall Street Journal has just done something very smart – they went the other way.
“On April 15th, the WSJ rolled out a new blog format that combined six of their best blogs (MarketBeat, The Source, Overheard and all the global Deal Journals) into one Voltron-esque sheet entitled MoneyBeat. Now you’re getting market action, M&A, trading, investing, analyst and strategist calls and more in one feed.
“If you’ve been seeing a lot of MoneyBeat lately it’s probably because the content is being heavily shared and linked to from my site and many others. Consensus among the bloggers I talk to is that the WSJ has nailed it. Even Barry likes it and he usually hates anything new that disrupts his flow.
“MoneyBeat is now comprehensive enough to challenge DealBook and FT Alpha but it remains focused enough on investing so as to stand apart. BTW, we’re still waiting for the Bloomberg market blog page (with View columnists I suppose?) but I fear that each post will be 48 paragraphs long, extending down to the floor.”
Read more here.
Bancroft member who sold WSJ dies
by Chris Roush
William Cox Jr., a senior member of the Bancroft family that sold The Wall Street Journal to News Corp. in 2007, died at 82, according to people close to the family.
Martin Peers and Stephen Miller of The Journal write, “Mr. Cox, who spent his career at The Wall Street Journal as an advertising and client relations executive, was a longtime supporter of preserving the independence of the paper’s parent company, Dow Jones & Co.
“‘It has been in the family for a long time,’ Mr. Cox told a Journal reporter in 2007. ‘I want to see it stay in the family,’ he added.
“He later appeared to change his mind, however, telling the Journal he was ‘leaning toward a sale.’
“The deal went through in the summer of 2007, closing later that year when News Corp., led by Rupert Murdoch, paid $5 billion for the company, a 67% premium above the share price when the offer was announced.”
Read more here.
WSJ editor joins Bloomberg Businessweek
by Chris Roush
Aaron Rutkoff, who runs the WSJ “Metropolis” blog and edits stories for the Greater New York section, is headed to Bloomberg Businessweek, a magazine spokeswoman confirmed to Talking Biz News on Friday morning.
He will be working on the magazine’s website operation. Longtime Businessweek.com editor Dan Beucke, who for the last several years worked on the website, left the magazine in March to become deputy business editor of the Orange County Register.
Rutkoff previously edited WSJ.com’s homepage, covered political advertising during the 2008 presidential election and wrote a column about Internet culture. He was a reporter and editor for the Queens Tribune before joining The Journal.
Rutkoff, who joined the Journal in 2005, was born in Highland Park, Ill., and attended Wesleyan University.
WSJ keeps reporter on beat of billionaire who is suing her
by Chris Roush
Ryan Chittum of The Columbia Journalism Review writes Tuesday about how The Wall Street Journal has kept reporter Kate O’Keefe covering Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands despite the fact that Adelson is suing her for libel for calling him a “a scrappy, foul-mouthed billionaire from working-class Dorchester, Mass.,” in a story.
Chittum writes, “The WSJ and O’Keeffe have had some good scoops on the serious federal corruption investigations into Las Vegas Sands—reporting Adelson presumably didn’t like.
“By keeping O’Keeffe on the beat, the Journal is telling Adelson (and future lawsuit-happy folks) that it won’t be bullied into soft-pedaling coverage and that it won’t let him control who covers him and his company. Reassigning O’Keeffe would have effectively let him do that.
“The Journal and O’Keeffe get the benefit of the doubt on their objectivity regarding Adelson and his casino company. She’s a pro, and everything has to go through editors anyway.
“The WSJ is doing exactly the right thing here.”
Read more here.
WSJ names Forsyth its US editor
by Chris Roush
Wall Street Journal managing editor Gerard Baker sent out the following announcement on Tuesday afternoon:
I’m delighted to announce that Jennifer Forsyth is appointed US Editor. In this newly enhanced role, the latest step in our reorganization and integration process, Jennifer will lead the combined U.S. reporting and editing teams of the Journal and Newswires as we continue to broaden our coverage of general U.S. news across all platforms, in areas including economics, politics, education and other topics.
As the Journal has demonstrated in the last five years, and particularly in the last 20 months under Jennifer’s leadership, we are a serious player in big national news in a way that can drive events and satisfy the high demands of our readers for straight information and analysis. In the last two weeks alone, the Journal showed its leadership and prowess on a range of big stories from the Boston attacks to the Texas plant explosion, the gun legislation and its national ripples to the bizarre ricin case. Integration and restructuring will allow Jen to build on all that we’ve accomplished in chronicling the big news and trends that shape the nation, especially by enhancing our real-time coverage.
Jennifer is well-suited to lead us in this arena, with a long track record of news reporting and investigative work. In her time on the national desk, she has been central to big stories including Hurricane Sandy and last year’s election coverage. In her previous job as Dallas bureau chief, she led our unrivaled investigative coverage of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Since arriving here, Jennifer also has served as law bureau chief and a real estate editor and reporter. Prior to joining the Journal she worked in papers in Shreveport, La. and Plattsburgh., N.Y. and at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Please join me in congratulating Jennifer on this important new role.
WSJ remains country’s largest newspaper
by Chris Roush
The Wall Street Journal remains the top daily newspaper in the country with a total average circulation of 2,378,827 (March 2013), a 12.3 percent increase from 2,118,315 (March 2012), according to the latest figures released by the Alliance for Audited Media.
The Journal’s digital circulation increased 62.6 percent to 898,102 (March 2013), up from 552,288 (March 2012).
The Journal’s total average circulation for WSJ Weekend increased 15.8 percent to 2,406,332 (March 2013), up from 2,078,564 (March 2012). In addition, single copy sales for WSJ Weekend increased 0.8 percent to 81,803 (March 2013) from 81,125 (March 2012).
The Journal debuted an expanded weekend edition in September 2010 and last year announced an increase in frequency of WSJ. Magazine to 11 times per year, which appears as part of the Weekend edition.
The New York Times is now No. 2, passing USA Today.
WSJ pushing more Internet TV
by Chris Roush
Todd Spangler of Variety writes Tuesday about The Wall Street Journal‘s big push into producing more Internet television content.
Spangler writes, “Company also highlighted WSJ Custom Studios, which will work with advertisers to create specialized video segments with integrated brand placement. And data-crunching tools to let marketers target auds is central to WSJ’s sales pitch.
“‘We’re not just a content company,’ said Dow Jones & Co. topper Lex Fenwick, also WSJ’s publisher. ‘We are starting on WSJ.com to build not only great content, but a platform… to build information about the customers that come and read our content.’
“Key rival for the Journal is Bloomberg, which similarly has ramped online video production — and unlike WSJ has foothold in cable with Bloomberg TV.
“The Wall Street Journal currently creates more than 100 hours of original content per month, across 30 platforms. Its online video properties now deliver about 21 million streams per month, per Omniture.”
Read more here.
