Dow Jones & Co. announced Friday that Wall Street Journal publisher Gordon Crovitz will step down from that position and write a column for the paper.
He is expected to be replaced by Times of London editor Robert Thomson. In addition, the change likely means that the Journal web site will become free. Crovitz had advocated that it remain a pay site.
Outgoing CEO Richard Zannino stated, “Gordon Crovitz has made many important contributions during a distinguished 25-year career at Dow Jones, most recently as head of the Consumer Media Group and publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Before successfully leading the Journal franchise during a time of profound change, he was president of the Electronic Publishing Group where he oversaw the launch and development of three of our most successful and profitable businesses — WSJ.com, Factiva and Dow Jones Indexes.”
News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, who is buying Dow Jones, said, “Gordon’s departure is a sad day for Dow Jones. With 25 years of brilliant service, he has made a huge contribution to the company. I hope he will remain a professional and personal friend.”
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