Dow Jones CEO Fenwick’s note to employees

Dow Jones & Co. CEO Lex Fenwick sent the following message to the company employees on the appointment of Gerard Baker as the new managing editor of The Wall Street Journal:

The Wall Street Journal’s success over the last years boils down to what we have that our competitors covet most – the best team of journalists and news professionals ever assembled in newsrooms around the world. That’s why I’m delighted to announce that one of the most transformative leaders in The Wall Street Journal’s history, Robert Thomson, moves over to lead the new publishing entity for News Corporation. He’ll be replaced from among us by Gerry Baker, who currently serves as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Journal. Attached you will find today’s announcements in full. The transition will take place on January 1, 2013.

Building upon what was already the world’s leading business and finance news organization, Robert steered the team at the Journal and Newswires to offer expanded content to ever more subscribers. We have not only become the largest newspaper in the United States, we’ve undergone a digital transformation and are expanding relentlessly across continents and countries.

Throughout his career, Gerry has held responsibilities across the full journalistic spectrum – from print to digital, from reporter to editor and from U.S. commentator to foreign correspondent. With his extensive international experience and deep journalistic biography, I am thrilled to be working with Gerry as we take the Journal and Newswires to even greater heights.