WSJ names Anders its chief news editor

Wall Street Journal deputy editor Matt Murray sent out the following announcement on Friday:

Dear All:

As Gerry noted yesterday, we’ve had an overwhelming response from our talented staff for our news roles. It’s a genuinely exciting time at The Journal as we build out our new structure, and we expect to make a number of appointments in the days to come.

First up, we’re delighted to say, is Jason Anders, who will be assuming the newly created role of Chief News Editor. In this vital role, Jason will oversee our daily news report from the center of the Hub, with coverage chiefs and platform chiefs both reporting to him.

You all know Jason and the qualities he brings to this job: His superb news judgment, his passion for smart stories and breaking news, his mastery of a wide array of subjects and his leadership presence and unfailing good humor. He will be the conductor of our daily symphony, the primary figure responsible for ensuring that what we publish across the board each day fulfills our core mission of great journalism, lives up to our high standards and reaches our readers on all platforms in the best way possible.

Jason brings the right mix of experience, breadth, judgment and leadership to his new job. He has worked for the Journal for nearly 20 years, most recently as Business Editor. He has taken our strong business coverage to new heights, with our strong corporate team continuing to expand the reach of stories from the first headlines to the deepest features, with commanding work across industries and big stories on everything from Uber and Apple to the changing nature of our eating and driving habits to issues in our workplaces. An early adopter and ardent enthusiast of the latest gadgetry, Jason also has pushed to innovate on our platforms and been an active player in WSJ2020 as we rethink our workflows and seek to to make the process smoother, faster and more mobile-friendly,

Before taking over business coverage, Jason spent four years on Page One, where he oversaw the extras, driving the day’s biggest news, and shepherded some of our most important enterprise projects. He first joined us from the Chicago Tribune in 1998 as an editor at what was known at the time as The Wall Street Journal Interactive Editi  on. He became one of our first online reporters and wrote about the early days of online investing. He went on to cover technology and politics from New York and Washington, and eventually served as Technology Editor.

Jason is a graduate of DePauw University. He and his partner live with their unruly puppy in Brooklyn.

Jason reports to me but of course will be working very closely with all of us. Please join us in congratulating him as he assumes this important job. And stay tuned for more!

Matt