Yu, global head of visuals, leaving Wall Street Journal

Jessica Yu, the global head of visuals and a deputy managing editor at The Wall Street Journal, is leaving the paper as part of its recent buyout offer.

In an email to Talking Biz News, Yu wrote, “I took a buyout in order to move to the Bay Area to be closer to family.  I have a few more professional obligations to fulfill in February (ONA women’s leadership accelerator and judging at the SND digital awards) but am otherwise wrapping up.”

Yu led a team of over 100 visual storytellers, designers, developers, data-visualization experts and photo editors. Her work spans the entire spectrum of WSJ content: print, desktop, mobile, apps and third-party platforms.

In 2014, she led a restructuring of the visuals team with the goal of making The Journal a leader in storytelling on all platforms. Since then The Journal’s visuals team has won many prestigious awards, including a Gold Medal from the Society of News Design and the Online News Association’s Award for Excellence and Innovation in Visual Digital Storytelling.

She was instrumental in the creation of The Journal’s VR/360° on-demand player, which supports viewers on all devices and runs within The Journal’s flagship app. The Journal was the first news company with this capability.

Previously, Yu was based in Hong Kong running The Journal’s Asia visuals team. She has been with the paper since 2003.