Steiger successor at WSJ will be named next spring

The New York Times is reporting that a successor to longtime Wall Street Journal managing editor Paul Steiger will be named next spring and that Steiger will step down from his position at the end of 2007.

In addition, the Journal said it has created a committee to assess how it delivers news across its print and online operations.

Reporter Lorne Manly wrote, “The company said that no successor to Mr. Steiger had been chosen, and would not be named until next spring. But Mr. Ingrassia will play a significant role in determining the journalistic future of The Journal, as the company said he would be given a senior editorial position once the news strategy project was completed early next year.

“The announcements come at a time when Dow Jones, like all publishing companies, faces fundamental challenges that go beyond the cyclical gyrations of the advertising market. Online media are spiriting away readers and usurping some of the advertising dollars that used to flow to newspapers. While many publishers have built some of the most popular news Web sites, the ad rates they can charge for their online publications do not come close to matching the ones they receive for their print products.”

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