WSJ’s Baker remembers David Bird

Wall Street Journal editor Gerard Baker sent out the following message to the staff about reporter David Bird, whose body was found in New Jersey after being missing for 14 months:

As many of you will have heard, the remains of our colleague, David Bird, were found today, more than a year after he was first reported missing.

On behalf of everyone at Dow Jones, I want to extend our deepest condolences to his wife, Nancy and their two children, Alex and Natasha  who have borne the unknowing of the last year with such grace and dedication who have now been so tragically bereaved.  Please remember them in your thoughts and prayers.

David was among the most respected energy journalists anywhere, a must-read for energy-market professionals known as an acute observer and commentator on the global oil market who was devoted to his beat and generous with his colleagues.

He first joined Dow Jones more than three decades ago and eventually became the deputy managing editor of the Dow Jones Energy Service. He was instrumental in the expansion of energy coverage at Dow Jones in the 1990s, leading its coverage of OPEC and energy markets and building a team regarded as among the best in business. He later launched a highly regarded column on the topic.

Well-sourced among the world’s most influential oil ministers, David would regale younger reporters with stories about what went on behind the scenes at some of the most historic OPEC meetings. His ability to navigate the vast troves of public oil data was unmatched. At 10:30 a.m. on Wednesdays he could be often seen hunched over his computer, sifting through spreadsheets and crunching numbers just released by the Energy Information Administration. He was often the first to gain insight into important energy-market trends.

To his colleagues at Dow Jones, David was a mentor, a friend and a model of integrity and dedication to his profession. Above all that, of course, he was a loving father and husband.