WSJ names new LA bureau chief

Wall Street Journal managing editor Robert Thomson sent out the following announcement about changes in the paper’s Los Angeles bureau:

The tone of life in Hollywood is about to take a turn for the sophisticated with the appointment of Rob Guth, our esteemed tech reporter and Bill Gates chronicler from San Francisco, as LA bureau chief. Rob will shape coverage of the second largest city in the nation and surrounding areas, including southwest development, immigration, aerospace and other regional and corporate issues. We expect he will be a writing chief, who will continue to add to his memorable collection of bylines, which have left him within reach of a typing hand permanently set in concrete in the forecourt of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

Rob joined the Tokyo bureau of Journal in 1999 as a reporter covering Japanese technology, consumer electronics, telecommunications and video games. In 2003, he moved to the San Francisco bureau to cover Microsoft, the software industry and video games. More recently, he has covered philanthropy, global health and worked on special projects such as our investigation of the Galleon Group and the ongoing H-P saga.

Prior to joining the Journal, Rob worked for IDG, where he was a Tokyo-based reporter for the company’s news service that fed stories to 300 computer-related publications, including PC World and the Industry Standard. He is a graduate of the University of Vermont and studied Japanese at Middlebury College. Rob will report to Matt Murray.

Elsewhere on the LA credits, Ethan Smith is taking on a new, enhanced role as Entertainment News Editor in the bureau. A member of the bureau since 2003, Ethan has broken a string of stories on major mergers and moguls. In his new role, he will be the prime reporter and shepherd of our Hollywood entertainment coverage.

Before joining the Journal, Ethan worked as a freelance writer and in staff jobs at New York magazine, the Industry Standard and Entertainment Weekly. Currently steering the bureau through its transition, Ethan will report to Rob. Please wish both Rob and Ethan continued success in their pursuit of method journalism.