Wall Street Journal editor Matt Murray sent out the following announcement on Monday:
Dear All:
As you’ve heard from Robert Thomson and Will Lewis, today we are launching an exciting partnership with Apple. This will be a busy, transformative time for the newsroom. There’s a lot to do — immediately and for many weeks ahead.
As we get going, I’d like to emphasize a few points:
—Most of all, the Apple venture is about more people seeing and paying for our journalism. We already have been attracting new subscribers and readers at a strong clip, and now have the most in our history. Apple has the potential to push that further and farther, and at a much faster rate, than we have experienced before. That’s an incredible opportunity. People want what we are producing: factual, reported scoops in a wide range of areas, memorable enterprise work, compelling narratives and features and impactful investigations. Apple’s interest is the latest sign of how our work is resonating.
—We will be hiring. As our journalism needs increase, so will our staff. We plan to hire several dozen people in the coming weeks, including reporters in politics, US News and features, as well as editors. Success will mean more to come. I expect that more platforms, and more audiences, will mean a greater need to deepen coverage to serve all types of readers.
—Jennifer Hicks is named Editor of News Partnerships, effective immediately. In this vital role, Jenn will be the Apple platform owner, determining the daily lineup, working with our partners there, pushing for stories from all of you and collaborating with our commercial colleagues across Dow Jones. I’m thrilled Jenn is taking it on, and her willingness to do so exponentially increases the prospects for our success. Jenn has a unique combination of news judgment, data insight, product and tech knowledge, understanding of our platforms and readers and cool-headedness. She is passionate about what we do, as she has shown in a number of key roles. This will be among the most important jobs in the newsroom. Jenn will continue to report to Jason Anders, so she remains wired to the center of the news process, but will be working closely with me and the entire leadership team, as well as our commercial colleagues. The most prominent among them will be our own Katharine Bailey, who will become the General Manager, SVP WSJ Digital, reporting to Suzi Watford, the EVP and CMO for the Journal.
Two final thoughts. First, while the Apple deal will bring some change to the newsroom, what won’t change is our core mission, the importance of our journalism and our commitment to the highest standards and ethics. These are the things that make us the nation’s most trusted news brand, that attract desirable outside partners, that drive important parts of the national conversation and that earn the hard-won devotion of millions of readers.
Lastly, this is a genuinely exciting moment for us. Only a few months shy of our 130th birthday, we are embarking on a new adventure that will broaden our journalism and has the potential to bring in millions of new readers. So while going all out, let’s also remember to have fun.
Matt
