Emma Tucker Named Next Editor-in-Chief of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires; Matt Murray Takes New Role at News Corp
Changes to Occur in February, March
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Emma Tucker has been named the next Editor-in-Chief of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, succeeding Matt Murray, who will take on new projects in a senior role at News Corp, reporting to Chief Executive Robert Thomson.
Ms. Tucker will assume her new position February 1, 2023, with Mr. Murray assisting her in the transition until March 1, 2023, when he will begin his new News Corp role.
Mr. Murray was named Editor-in-Chief of the Journal and Dow Jones Newswires in June 2018. During his tenure, the Journal won the Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting in 2019 and published the influential Facebook Files series and consequential investigations involving GameStop, TikTok, PG&E and the financial conflicts of interest of federal judges and other government officials. The Journal won its first Emmy Award in 2020.
Mr. Murray’s tenure has also seen the Journal broaden its reach across many platforms, from its expansive presence on Apple News, Snapchat, Google, TikTok and other partners; to video, where output and viewership has expanded on and off platform; and into podcasting where downloads have increased more than 35% in 2022 from a year earlier. The Journal, the flagship daily podcast that launched in 2019 in partnership with Gimlet Media, is the No. 1 business news podcast on Spotify and No. 3 news podcast overall (in the US, as of December 11, 2022).
Since 2018, digital-only subscriptions to the Journal doubled, growing from approximately 1.6 million as of the quarter ending June 2018 to nearly 3.2 million as of the quarter ending September 2022.
In his new role, Mr. Murray will take on several critical growth projects supporting News Corp.
During Ms. Tucker’s editorship, she led The Sunday Times newsroom through the COVID pandemic, with their coverage scrutinizing the government’s pandemic response winning awards, as did their noteworthy “cash-for-honours” exclusive. In 2021, The Sunday Times was named Sunday Newspaper of the Year at the UK Press Awards.
Under Ms. Tucker’s leadership, The Sunday Times experienced substantial growth in subscriptions, with digital readership more than doubling. The Times and The Sunday Times have achieved record profitability, and digital subscriptions grew from 320,000 as of the end of 2019 to approximately 450,000 by the end of September 2022, an increase of more than 40%, and, in the most recent quarter, the titles saw a 23% increase in digital subscriptions.
Mr. Thomson said: “Matt is a superb journalist and leader who has overseen a peerless editorial team that fashioned success for the Journal during an era of extreme vulnerability for media companies and journalism. Matt’s principled leadership has ensured that the Journal is charting an auspicious course for the future and remains a beacon of trust in the midst of the modern media maelstrom. I look forward to Matt’s sagacious and shrewd counsel as he takes on a significant advisory role at News Corp.
“Emma is a brilliant, inspiring editor, with digital nous and the highest standards of integrity. She has been a thoughtful custodian of The Sunday Times and will bring verve and virtue to Dow Jones. Her global vision and experience will be particularly important at a time of immense international opportunity for The Wall Street Journal. Emma has a deep background in business reporting and a thoroughly deserved reputation for the pursuit of principle, and she will never knowingly be beaten to a scoop.”
Almar Latour, Chief Executive Officer of Dow Jones and Publisher of The Wall Street Journal, said: “Under Matt’s leadership, the Journal’s newsroom delivered impactful journalism and great investigative reporting, helping fuel a period of tremendous growth in readership at a time of global volatility.
“Emma and the Journal’s team of editors and reporters will now continue to build on that remarkable foundation. Emma is a champion of independent journalism and high journalistic standards. She brings strong experience in international and digital journalism and an impressive track record in leading journalists and coverage at The Sunday Times, The Times of London and the Financial Times. I look forward to working with her to continue to expand the Journal’s reach and impact.”
The five-member Dow Jones Special Committee, created in 2007 to monitor editorial standards and ethics issues at The Wall Street Journal, has unanimously approved the changes.
Mr. Murray said: “I’ve long been proud of the Journal’s essential, independent journalism, and feel special pride in all that our team has accomplished. The Journal and Dow Jones are poised to further extend their impact, reach and influence with Emma at the helm.”
Ms. Tucker said: “As a long-time admirer and reader of the brilliant journalism of The Wall Street Journal, it is my honor to edit this great newspaper. With some the best writers and the wisest minds on its staff, this impactful publication continues to set the agenda and reach ever-wider digital audiences around the world. I look forward to working with Matt through the transition. And I can’t wait to work with the entire team at the Journal and my new colleagues at Dow Jones, who have done so much in recent years to publish journalism that matters and set new records along the way.”
Ms. Tucker became Editor of The Sunday Times in January 2020. She joined The Times in 2007 as Associate Features Editor, and the following year she became Editor of Times2, an awards-winning daily features supplement to The Times. In 2012, she was promoted to Editorial Director. In 2013, she was appointed Deputy Editor of The Times.
Prior to The Times, Ms. Tucker was with the Financial Times, where she began as a graduate trainee, spent four years as UK Economics Reporter, worked out of the Brussels and Berlin bureaus and returned to London in 2001, where she served in several leadership positions.
Ms. Tucker went to school in East Sussex and New Mexico, then studied at Oxford University.
Mr. Murray first joined Dow Jones & Company in 1994 as a reporter in Pittsburgh. Beginning in 1997, he covered banking for the Journal and joined the news desk in 2004, rising to national news editor. In 2008, he became Deputy Managing Editor, and was named Deputy Editor-in-Chief in 2013. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in journalism from Northwestern University.
About News Corp
News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) is a global, diversified media and information services company focused on creating and distributing authoritative and engaging content and other products and services. The company comprises businesses across a range of media, including: digital real estate services, subscription video services in Australia, news and information services and book publishing. Headquartered in New York, News Corp operates primarily in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, and its content and other products and services are distributed and consumed worldwide. More information is available at: http://www.newscorp.com.
About Dow Jones
Dow Jones is a global provider of news and business information, delivering content to consumers and organizations around the world across multiple formats, including print, digital, mobile and live events. Dow Jones has produced unrivaled quality content for more than 130 years and today has one of the world’s largest news-gathering operations globally. It is home to leading publications and products including the flagship Wall Street Journal, America’s largest newspaper by paid circulation; Barron’s, MarketWatch, Mansion Global, Financial News, Investor’s Business Daily, Factiva, Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, Dow Jones Newswires, OPIS and Chemical Market Analytics. Dow Jones is a division of News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV).
News Corp Investor Relations
Michael Florin
212-416-3363
mflorin@newscorp.com
News Corp Corporate Communications
Jim Kennedy
212-416-4064
jkennedy@newscorp.com
Dow Jones Corporate Communications
Jennifer Thurman
303-408-4201
jennifer.thurman@dowjones.com
News UK Corporate Communications
Daisy Dunlop
+44 207 782 6074
daisy.dunlop@news.co.uk
Statement of the Dow Jones Special Committee
The merger between Dow Jones & Co. and News Corp. in 2007 included the establishment of an independent five-person committee, known as the Dow Jones Special Committee, to help protect the editorial integrity of The Wall Street Journal. The agreement grants the Committee the rights of approval over the appointment or removal of the Editor in Chief and the Editorial Page Editor. News Corp. management recently informed the Committee of its desire to appoint Emma Tucker, the editor of News Corp.’s Sunday Times, based in London, as Editor in Chief of the Journal, succeeding Matt Murray, Editor in Chief since 2018. After extensive discussion with the principals, including Ms. Tucker and Mr. Murray, as well as due diligence with others, the Committee voted to approve the appointment.
Dow Jones Special Committee
Thomas J. Bray
Tjbray24@gmail.com
Contacts
News Corp Investor Relations
Michael Florin
212-416-3363
mflorin@newscorp.com
News Corp Corporate Communications
Jim Kennedy
212-416-4064
jkennedy@newscorp.com
Dow Jones Corporate Communications
Jennifer Thurman
303-408-4201
jennifer.thurman@dowjones.com
News UK Corporate Communications
Daisy Dunlop
+44 207 782 6074
daisy.dunlop@news.co.uk
Dow Jones Special Committee
Thomas J. Bray
Tjbray24@gmail.com