Emma Tucker named new editor of The Wall Street Journal, succeeding Matt Murray

News Corp. named veteran U.K. journalist Emma Tucker as the next editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, succeeding Matt Murray, who oversaw significant digital growth and guided the news organization through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms. Tucker, 56 years old, will assume her new position on Feb. 1, the company said Monday. Mr. Murray, also 56, will work with Ms. Tucker during a transition period until March 1. He will then continue in a senior position at News Corp, where he will work on new projects and report to Chief Executive Robert Thomson.

"As a long-time admirer and reader of the brilliant journalism of The Wall Street Journal, it is my honor to edit this great newspaper," Ms. Tucker said in a statement. "I can’t wait to work with the entire team at the Journal and my new colleagues at Dow Jones, who have done so much in recent years to publish journalism that matters and set new records along the way."

Ms. Tucker has served as editor of the Sunday Times, another News Corp publication, since January 2020. Among her achievements was the outlet’s coverage of the pandemic, which began early in her tenure, including a widely read article examining the British government’s missteps in preventing the spread of the virus.

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As editor, Ms. Tucker has supported deeply reported investigations, tackling difficult subjects. Earlier this year, for example, the Sunday Times investigated the use of the epilepsy drug sodium valproate and its impact on unborn children.

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During her tenure, the Sunday Times business section broke news on major transactions including Unilever PLC’s bid for GlaxoSmithKline PLC’s consumer-healthcare arm and led investigations into former Prime Minister David Cameron’s lobbying on behalf of the disgraced Australian financier Lex Greensill.

At the Sunday Times, Ms. Tucker has prioritized audience growth, utilizing analytics and data to inform change in the newsroom, people who have worked with her say. On her watch, digital readership more than doubled, News Corp said. Digital subscriptions at the Times and Sunday Times grew from 320,000 at the end of 2019 to roughly 450,000 as of September 2022.

Ms. Tucker’s journalism career started in London at the Financial Times, where she had early stints covering politics and economics. She later held assignments in Brussels and Berlin, and eventually rose to editor of the FT Weekend. She served as deputy editor at the Times of London prior to being named editor of the Sunday Times.

The five-member Dow Jones Special Committee, which was created in 2007 to monitor editorial standards and ethics issues at the Journal, unanimously approved the appointment of Ms. Tucker, News Corp said.

"Emma is a brilliant, inspiring editor, with digital nous and the highest standards of integrity," said Mr. Thomson. "Her global vision and experience will be particularly important at a time of immense international opportunity for The Wall Street Journal."

Ms. Tucker’s appointment comes as News Corp and Fox Corp. are considering a proposal from Rupert Murdoch to reunite after nearly a decade as separate companies. Mr. Murdoch’s family trust holds large stakes in each media company.

Mr. Thomson described Mr. Murray as "a superb journalist and leader who has overseen a peerless editorial team that fashioned success for the Journal during an era of extreme vulnerability for media companies and journalism."

Mr. Murray was under contract as the Journal’s editor through June 2023, according to people familiar with the matter.

He joined Dow Jones & Co. in 1994 as a reporter for the Pittsburgh bureau. He served in a variety of roles, including executive editor and deputy editor in chief. Mr. Murray took over the top job at the Journal in June 2018.

Mr. Murray is the author of "The Father and the Son: My Father’s Journey into the Monastic Life," published in 1999.

"I’ve long been proud of the Journal’s essential, independent journalism, and feel special pride in all that our team has accomplished," Mr. Murray said in a statement. "The Journal and Dow Jones are poised to further extend their impact, reach and influence with Emma at the helm."

As editor, Mr. Murray strongly articulated that the Journal should remain focused on its core strengths in business, finance and economics, even as it pursues general-interest readers.

Journalistic achievements during Mr. Murray’s tenure include the publication in 2021 of the "Facebook Files," a series based on internal Facebook documents. The stories revealed how Facebook Inc.—since renamed Meta Platforms Inc.—was aware of harmful effects of its platform but failed to take action to correct them.

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This year, the Facebook series won a George Polk award for business reporting and a Gerald Loeb Award for beat reporting. The news organization won two more Loeb Awards for breaking news coverage of GameStop Corp. and an explanatory series that showed how TikTok’s algorithm can drive minors into spools of adult content.

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Separately, a series that revealed how federal judges broke the law by hearing cases where they had a financial interest was among the winners of the 2022 Barlett and Steele Awards for the Best in Investigative Business Journalism. In the fall of 2021, the publication took home its first Emmy.

The Journal also won a 2019 Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of hush-money payments to two women who alleged they had affairs with former President Donald Trump.

During Mr. Murray’s tenure, China expelled several journalists from certain American news outlets including the Journal. Mr. Murray reformulated the Journal’s China coverage under a new globalized structure that put China-savvy journalists in newsrooms from Singapore to New York.

On the business side, the Journal averaged 3.16 million digital subscriptions for the quarter ended Sept. 30, about double the 1.59 million it averaged in the quarter during which Mr. Murray was appointed.

"Under Matt’s leadership, the Journal’s newsroom delivered impactful journalism and great investigative reporting, helping fuel a period of tremendous growth in readership at a time of global volatility," said Almar Latour, chief executive of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal. He said Ms. Tucker "brings strong experience in international and digital journalism and an impressive track record in leading journalists."

Early in his tenure, Mr. Murray carried out a restructuring of the newsroom, creating a large strategy group headed by journalist Louise Story. The team, which included specialists in such disciplines as research and development and innovation, authored a report that made several recommendations. These included that the Journal should make greater efforts to reach younger and more diverse readers, as well as casual readers.

The strategy review wasn’t publicized by the Journal. Although the group was wound down, some of its ideas were implemented. Ms. Story left the Journal in July 2021.

Among the changes Mr. Murray made to expand the Journal’s audience and pursue digital growth were the creation of a new "Life & Work" coverage area, a Style news desk and a "Speed and Trending" desk that focuses on fast-turnaround news and stories of popular interest. On his watch, the Journal also made strides in digital audio, including the launch of the Journal, a daily podcast.

Mr. Murray navigated the Journal through the Covid pandemic, when coverage of the major public-health and economic storylines spurred a major rise in readership and online subscriptions, as it did for some other publishers. During the pandemic, the Journal, like other companies, faced a management challenge, as its operations across the world closed and staff worked remotely. Mr. Murray has been an advocate of having workers return to the office, emphasizing the value of in-person collaboration in a newsroom.

In May 2020, the killing of George Floyd in police custody set off racial-justice protests in the U.S. and sparked debates inside many newsrooms about race and diversity. At the Journal, more than 150 journalists later sent a letter to Mr. Murray and publisher Almar Latour, raising concerns about diversity, hiring and coverage. At the time, Mr. Latour said he initiated a review of the issues raised by the staffers and that Mr. Murray would pursue newsroom changes.

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In July 2020, the Journal named Brent Jones, a Black newsroom leader, to the new and expanded role of editor, culture, training and outreach. In a memo to staff, Mr. Murray said Mr. Jones would be added to the paper’s masthead and would report to him, helping to rethink diversity in staffing and coverage.