WSJ names Orwall its global sports editor

Wall Street Journal editor Gerard Baker sent out the following announcement on Tuesday:

I’m pleased to announce the appointment of Bruce Orwall as Global Sports Editor. Bruce will lead our sports staff in New York and oversee our coverage of sports on all our platforms and editions. As you know, our energetic and creative sports coverage has become integral to our broader journalistic success, from our lively dispatches on teams and games to our ambitious reporting on the intersection of sports and business, politics, health and society around the world. Bruce is ideally suited to take this coverage to the next level, building on his record as one of this newspaper’s most experienced bureau chiefs and story drivers, in Los Angeles, London, and Europe/Middle East/Africa.

In a succession of high-profile and senior roles, Bruce has helped produce a stream of memorable stories and powerful coverage of global events — political, economic and financial. He has an expert eye for a story and a talent for producing the best — whether helming instant news coverage of big developing stories, piloting important investigations or adding a touch of grace and style to a feature or an a-hed.

Bruce has been the Wall Street Journal’s Senior Editor, Europe/Middle East/Africa, since 2013, overseeing coverage of a series of tumultuous events including the migration crisis; the rise of Islamic State and related conflicts in the Middle East; terror attacks in Western capitals such as Paris and Brussels; and Europe’s ongoing economic struggles. He also helped lead coverage of the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Before that, as London Bureau Chief since 2009, he led a wide array of coverage from Libor manipulation and the WikiLeaks saga to News Corp.’s phone hacking scandal, the 2012 Summer Olympics and a royal wedding.

From 2004 to 2009, Bruce was the Los Angeles Bureau Chief, overseeing areas including the entertainment business, immigration, the aerospace and defense industries and gambling. He was previously the West Coast Entertainment Editor, overseeing coverage of the media business in L.A. while continuing to work as a reporter covering Hollywood. He joined the Journal in 1995, initially covering the casino and hotel industries.

Bruce came to the Journal from the St. Paul Pioneer Press, where he worked from 1987 to 1995, and The Herald (Everett, WA) where he began his career in 1984. He is a graduate of the University of Washington.