NEW YORK, June 9, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) –
The Wall Street Journal today appointed two key leadership roles for The
Wall Street Journal in Asia and The Wall Street Journal Online (WSJ.com).
Almar Latour has been appointed to the newly created role of
editor-in-chief, Asia, for The Wall Street Journal's print and digital
editions from his current role as managing editor of WSJ.com. In this
position, he will focus on growth strategy in the region and oversee The
Wall Street Journal Asia, Asia.WSJ.com, Chinese.WSJ.com, India.WSJ.com and
an upcoming Japanese-language Web site. Mr. Latour will be based in Hong
Kong and report to Robert Thomson, editor-in-chief of Dow Jones & Company
and managing editor of The Wall Street Journal.
Rebecca Blumenstein, international news editor for the Journal in New York,
has been named managing editor of WSJ.com. Ms. Blumenstein will report to
Alan Murray, deputy managing editor and executive editor, online, of The
Wall Street Journal. The respective new posts become effective later this
summer.
"Almar is an extraordinary leader and catapulted WSJ.com into an
unparalleled period of growth with smart, relevant content and innovation,
and his accomplishments both past and present will greatly serve us in Asia
across all mediums," said Mr. Thomson. "There is no doubt that much of our
future will be digital and that the coming years will be crucial for our
online operations, and Rebecca has shown the genuine leadership necessary to
keep WSJ.com on its current path of expansion and innovation. Both of these
roles are fundamental to the success of the Journal franchise, and I look
forward to continued excellence from both of these deserving editors."
About Mr. Latour
Mr. Latour is an award-winning journalist and has been managing editor of
WSJ.com since 2007, leading the site's expanded coverage of business and
finance as well as personal finance, sports, travel and multimedia
storytelling. He oversaw a major site redesign in September 2008, and
readership for WSJ.com has grown aggressively during his tenure. He
previously served as bureau chief for the Journal's technology group in New
York and as deputy bureau chief. In March 2005, Mr. Latour was part of a
team of two that won the World Leadership Forum's business journalism award
for "Best Story on Business Leadership."
Mr. Latour previously worked as a staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal
in New York and for The Wall Street Journal Europe in London, Stockholm and
Brussels. He also wrote for one of that publication's magazines and covered
Central and Eastern Europe, the Internet bubble, and numerous other topics.
He also was a news assistant at the Journal's Washington, D.C. bureau.
About Ms. Blumenstein
Ms. Blumenstein has held her current role as international news editor since
December 2008. She was previously the Journal's China bureau chief and has
also served as bureau chief and deputy bureau chief for the technology group
in New York. Also an award-winning journalist, Ms. Blumenstein was part of a
team that won the Gerald Loeb Award in 2003 for deadline writing for
coverage of WorldCom. In China, she headed the team that won the 2007
Pulitzer for International Reporting. In March, she was named to the Aspen
Institute's Henry Crown Fellowship for 2009. Ms. Blumenstein joined the
Journal in 1995 as a reporter in the Detroit bureau. She began her
journalism career at the Tampa Tribune and has held reporting roles at
Gannett Newspapers and Newsday. Ms. Blumenstein holds a bachelor's degree in
economics and social science from the University of Michigan.
About The Wall Street Journal
Founded in 1889, The Wall Street Journal, the flagship publication of Dow
Jones & Company is the world's leading business publication and holds 33
Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism. The Wall Street Journal has a
print and online circulation of more than 2 million, reaching the nation's
top business and political leaders, as well as investors across the country.
The Wall Street Journal boasts the largest individually paid circulation out
of the top 25 U.S. newspapers. Other publications that are part of The Wall
Street Journal franchise, with a global audience of 3.8 million, include The
Wall Street Journal Asia and The Wall Street Journal Europe. The Wall Street
Journal Online at WSJ.com is the leading provider of business and financial
news and analysis on the Web with more than one million subscribers and 26
million users per month. WSJ.com is the flagship site of The Wall Street
Journal Digital Network, which also includes MarketWatch.com, Barrons.com
and AllThingsD.com. In 2009, the Journal was ranked No. 1 in BtoB's Media
Power 50 for the 10th consecutive year. The Wall Street Journal Radio
Network services news and information to more than 350 radio stations in the
U.S.
The Wall Street Journal logo is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2641
Contacts:
Ashley S. Huston
Dow Jones & Company
(212) 416-2025
ashley.huston@dowjones.com
Emily Edmonds
Dow Jones & Company
(212) 416-2635
emily.edmonds@dowjones.com