WSJ hires Barr from USA Today to cover Google

Wall Street Journal technology editor Jonathan Krim sent out the following staff announcement on Monday afternoon:

As all of us know, Google is a rather large establishment. In recent months, it has gotten even bigger, with broader ambitions and forays into areas well beyond its core business. The sheer scope and size of this company is such that no individual reporter can be expected to be on top of it all. And so we are adding a second reporter to the beat, to work side by side with Rolfe Winkler on this critical mission.

I’m delighted to announce that Alistair Barr, a seasoned tech reporter with a penchant for scoops, will be joining us next month. Alistair currently is senior tech reporter for USA Today, and before that covered e-commerce at Reuters. Originally from Great Britain, Alistair began his reporting on the finance side, working for Kiplinger’s, Bloomberg in London and then Marketwatch for several years before joining Reuters.

In his spare time, Alistair likes to grow vegetables and ski, presumably not at the same time.

We look forward to the formidable WinklerBarr partnership doing great things on this amazing beat.

Barr had joined USA Today in August.