WSJ EIC Murray: Ukraine coverage shows the importance of journalism

Wall Street Journal editor in chief Matt Murray sent out the following:

Dear All:

The last week in Ukraine has produced indelible images for all of us, and resonated with millions who are captivated by events on the ground and have turned to us for truth, insight and understanding at a moment of import and uncertainty. Virtually every team in the newsroom has been touched by the story and has contributed to it; to take just one example, Shazna Nessa notes, “There isn’t a person on the graphics team who hasn’t pulled extra duty.”

Hundreds of you have been directly engaged in reporting, editing, producing, presenting and sharing our journalism. Many are working long days and nights, and a few are working under extreme and even perilous circumstances. Some laid the groundwork for coverage of the invasion through weeks of thoughtful planning and smart journalism. The result has been an extraordinary run of memorable and impactful work, from our website to the paper, from video and audio to art and graphics.

This is a moment to express collective appreciation to all of you, in every corner of the newsroom, for the work that is ongoing. We are blessed with the strongest roster of reporters, artists, videographers, audio producers, production teams, operations teams, editors and leaders in the business, as you are demonstrating every day.

On such a big story that involves all of us, it’s hard to single out individuals. But it’s important to note the central role in leading the coverage, with drive and dedication, by the foreign desk and our teams in London and Washington, who have together been working on multiple fronts. We also are all thinking of those colleagues who have been in the theater reporting on this story, at times under quite challenging circumstances. Yaroslav Trofimov, in Kyiv, has been, as ever, enterprising, insightful and cool under pressure, and Ann Simmons in Moscow has been bringing her extensive Russian understanding and sourcing, and her own leadership and wisdom, to bear on our coverage around the clock. The reporters in the field have included James Marson of the Brussels bureau; Alan Cullison, Brett Forrest and Vivian Salama of the DC bureau; Tom Grove of the Middle East bureau; and Matthew Luxmoore, who recently joined the Moscow bureau. Evan Gershkovich, another recent addition to the Moscow team, has been reporting from Belarus and was instrumental in our video investigation of Russian deployments. Across the Polish border, Drew Hinshaw has captured the flow of refugees as well as the security and geopolitical fallout of the war.

Colleagues across Dow Jones have also contributed, especially on the Experience and Security teams. We once are grateful for Stevo Stephen, who has spent more than a month on the ground making our reporting possible and is with Yaro now in Kyiv, and Nathan Puffer, who has gone to Slovakia to assist. Their planning and preparation allow us to do the vital reporting that helps the world know what is happening in Ukraine.

Stories like this are a reminder of the profound privileges and responsibilities we all share as journalists. Thank you for your hard work and for embodying the highest standards of journalistic excellence.

Matt