WSJ’s Baker on the paper’s 125th anniversary

Capital New York’s Joe Pompeo spoke with Wall Street Journal managing editor Gerard Baker on the paper’s 125th anniversary on Tuesday about its progress in recent years.

Here is an excerpt:

CAPITAL: What are the most innovative things happening at the Journal right now digitally?

BAKER: We’re pressing ahead aggressively with a digital transformation of our newsroom. That means not just a root and branch rethink of the way we work – from the structure of our news meetings to our engagement with social media. It means a redesign of all our digital products which we will be rolling out in the coming months and above all a commitment to embracing the full opportunity the digital experience offers to enhance our journalism by making it visually compelling, interactive and immersive. All the while of course we remain committed to the highest standards of journalism and to extending our reach into areas and audiences the Journal has not previously touched.

We’ve completed WSJ’s Real-Time News Desk in our Hub, which has become the heart of a faster-moving, digital news operation. Social engagement remains at our core and the new Audience Engagement team makes sure that our stories drive and participate in the biggest debates and discussions among our readers.

And of course we produced genuinely groundbreaking works of enterprise journalism. Among the highlights: “The Lobotomy Files,” about the traumas faced by WWII vets and “Against The Wind,” about one of the greatest comebacks in sailing history. These stories were memorable not just because of their powerful storytelling but because of the way they explored the full possibilities offered by digital journalism.

Read more here.