WSJ names Waller head of live journalism

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

I’m delighted to announce that Nikki Waller is appointed Editor, Live Journalism and Special Content.

Nikki will be editorially responsible for all our conferences and events, as well as for Journal Reports and some other special content and sections that we produce from time to time.

The scope and scale of our live journalism has expanded dramatically in the last five years. Our marquee conferences – the C-suite events, WSJD Live , as well as other productions – have been both editorially and commercially highly successful. Thanks in large part to the commitment and creativity of John Bussey, conferences are now a key part of our editorial offering – done to the same high standards as all our journalism. At the same time, Journal Reports, under the leadership of Larry Rout, have been among the most successful products among our published journalism. Under Nikki’s guidance, and with John and Larry’s continuing sterling endeavors, we can look forward to expanding these two important strands severally and in glorious harmony.

Nikki will report directly to me.

Nikki joined The Journal in 2008, where as an editor on WSJ.com she expanded our digital coverage of personal finance and created The End of Wall Street, an oral history of the financial crisis and the Journal’s first long-form video documentary. (An even more memorable video achievement was her creation of WSJ Homemade Highlights, Olympics moments retold with finger puppets.) In 2010, she launched and led digital news coverage for Greater New York, before moving to the Management bureau in 2012, where her team has chronicled the rise of contract work in American workplaces, IBM’s shift away from remote work , never-ending performance reviews and the successes of bald CEOs.

Before joining The Journal, she covered criminal courts at the Miami Herald and launched Miami.com, a city guide. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. A proud native of Akron, Ohio, a runner and a lifelong Cubs fan, she lives with her husband and son in Brooklyn.

Please join me in congratulating Nikki on her new role.