Categories: OLD Media Moves

WSJ, Dow Jones undergoing restructuring

The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires are undergoing a restructuring that will more closely align their operations but also cut some positions, Dylan Byers of Politico reports Tuesday based on an email to the staff from Journal managing editor Gerard Baker.

Byers writes, “‘The animating idea behind integration has always been a cohesive news organization, one that eliminates duplication and better deploys our joint reporting and editing resources to areas of coverage where we can have most impact,’ Gerard Baker, the Editor-in-Chief of Dow Jones and Managing Editor of The Wall Street Journal, wrote in the memo.

“‘This week, we will begin putting more editorial heft behind this strategy… We will post at least a dozen new positions immediately, and more jobs will be posted in weeks and months to come. At the same time, and in the process of integrating our resources, we will be undertaking a limited restructuring around the world that will result in some consolidation of positions. And as the end of the fiscal year approaches, as is usual practice, some of our colleagues are taking buyout packages.’

“The memo comes nearly two weeks after the industry trade Talking Biz News reported that ‘a number of reporters’ at The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires had been offered buyouts as part of the integration effort, and that some staff could be laid off if the company did not meet its buyout quota. The total number of anticipated buyouts is unknown.”

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Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.