WSJ names new LA bureau chief

Gerard Baker, the managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, sent out the following staff announcement on Wednesday afternoon:

I’m delighted to announce that Ethan Smith is appointed Los Angeles bureau chief.

Ethan is admirably qualified to take the helm of a bureau that is both the center of the global entertainment industry and the largest metropolis of the US’s most populous, prosperous and complex state.

A veteran music industry reporter, Ethan has been with the Journal since 2003. He has composed some memorable and mellifluous scoops, from the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger to the Beatles’ long-awaited deal to sell their music on iTunes. He has worked as a deputy in the bureau since 2009 and has done a formidable job running the bureau on an interim basis since September.

Prior to joining the Journal, Ethan worked on the staffs of several magazines, including the Industry Standard, New York, Entertainment Weekly and Sassy. He grew up in New York and attended Williams College and now lives in LA with his wife, Heather, and two (soon to be three) sons.