Wall Street Journal reporter Jeffrey Trachtenberg has left the news organization after more than 37 years.
“I’ve decided time is up,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “Thanks to all those in the newsroom who shared their passion for the work we’ve done together; the paper has never looked better or been more interesting.”
Trachtenberg covered the book industry and is part of the Journal’s Media and Marketing Bureau in New York. During his tenure on the beat, he’s written about the rise of Amazon as the world’s dominant book retailer, the struggles of Barnes & Noble to reinvent itself for the e-commerce era, and consolidation among the biggest publishers as they try to maintain leverage in a changing industry.
Other topics in his coverage have included the popularity of political books, debates over “cancel culture” within publishing houses and other literary trends. He has interviewed high-profile authors such as President Jimmy Carter, Philip Roth and J.K. Rowling. Jeff co-authored a 2021 series on the succession drama at Scholastic, following the unexpected death of the children’s publisher’s longtime boss.
Trachtenberg has also covered the magazine industry for the Journal, chronicling how giants such as Condé Nast have sought to pivot from a focus on glossy print titles into online publishers. He has broken news on a variety of deals, including the page-one scoop that Barry Diller’s IAC was acquiring Meredith, owner of such titles as People and Better Homes & Gardens.
Previously, he covered the retailing, consumer electronics and music industries for the Journal, reporting on such big retail chains as Federated Department Stores and Saks Fifth Avenue, and the music arms of Sony, Bertelsmann and Polygram. He is the author of the first biography of designer Ralph Lauren, and he later wrote an inside look at the management-led buyout of Macy’s titled “The Rain on Macy’s Parade.”
Prior to joining the Journal, Trachtenberg wrote for Forbes magazine and Women’s Wear Daily, where he covered Seventh Avenue and later Hollywood. He has a bachelor’s degree in literature from Franklin & Marshall College.
