NEW YORK, May 20, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Robert Thomson has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of Dow Jones and managing editor of the Wall Street Journal, effective immediately, Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of Dow Jones & company, announced.
The Dow Jones Special Committee today unanimously endorsed Mr. Thomson's appointment following his nomination by the Company last week.
Mr. Murdoch said: "Mr. Thomson's outstanding career as a financial journalist, foreign correspondent and editor, equips him perfectly for the position."
Les Hinton, Chief Executive Officer of Dow Jones, said: "Robert is the ideal editor to unlock the vast potential of the Wall Street Journal and our other Dow Jones brands, both in this country and around the world."
Mr. Thomson will oversee the news section of the Wall Street Journal and the editorial operations of Dow Jones News Wires. Neal Lipschutz, News Wires managing editor, will report to Mr. Thomson. Paul Gigot, Editorial Page Editor of the Journal, will report to Mr. Hinton, who will assume Mr. Thomson's role as Publisher of the Wall Street Journal in addition to his existing duties.
Robert Thomson was appointed Publisher of Dow Jones in December 2007, having been Editor of The Times of London since March 2002. Prior to that he was Managing Editor of the U.S. Edition of the Financial Times, taking responsibility for the FT's ambitious drive into America, where the newspaper trebled its sales to almost 150,000 during his four-year tenure. For his work in developing the FT, in print and online, he was named U.S. Business Journalist of the Year in 2001. From 1996 to 1998, he was Editor of the Weekend FT, orchestrating a successful redesign of that paper, which became the fastest-growing newspaper in the UK market during 1997. He has served as a correspondent in Beijing and Tokyo, and began his career as a copy boy at The Herald, Melbourne, in 1979.
Mr. Thomson's appointment follows the resignation as managing editor of Marcus Brauchli. Mr. Brauchli resigned after a meeting with Dow Jones executives.
Referring to the circumstances of Mr. Brauchli's resignation, Mr. Hinton said: "The Company believes it was acting in accordance with the agreement and had no intention of subverting the role of the Special Committee. In hindsight, we recognize it would have more been appropriate to have advised the Committee in advance of reaching an agreement with Mr. Brauchli. We have apologized to the Committee members and undertaken that in future we will consult with it and seek approval of the Committee before taking any action with respect to an editor that could result in a material change in an editor's duties, responsibilities or reporting relationships or the departure of that editor."
About The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal, the flagship publication of Dow Jones & Company is the world's leading business publication. Founded in 1889, The Wall Street Journal has a print and online circulation of more than 2 million, reaching the nation's top business and political leaders, as well as investors across the country. Holding 33 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism, The Wall Street Journal provides readers with trusted information and knowledge to make better decisions. The Wall Street Journal print franchise has more than 750 journalists world-wide, part of the Dow Jones network of nearly 1,900 business and financial news staff. Other publications that are part of The Wall Street Journal franchise, with a global audience of 3.8 million, include The Wall Street Journal Asia and The Wall Street Journal Europe. The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com is the largest paid subscription news site on the Web with 10.9 million users each month. In 2008, the Journal was ranked No. 1 in BtoB's Media Power 50 for the ninth consecutive year. The Wall Street Journal Radio Network services news and information to more than 280 radio stations in the U.S.
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