Sunday Times editor Emma Tucker announced as new editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal

The editor of the UK Sunday Times, Emma Tucker, has been announced as the new editor of The Wall Street Journal.

The Murdoch-owned News Corp, which operates both papers, announced on Monday that Tucker, 56, would succeed Matt Murray on 1 February.

The paper said that Murray will work alongside Tucker during a transition period until 1 March. Murray will then move on to another role at News Corp.

“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,” Tucker said in a statement to The Journal. “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.”

Tucker became the editor of the Sunday Times in January 2020. She started her career at the Financial Times, covering politics and economics in London, before heading out on assignments in Brussels and Berlin before becoming the editor of FT Weekend.

She was also the deputy editor of the Times of London before becoming the Sunday Times editor.

News Corp said Tucker’s appointment was announced after she was unanimously approved by the five members of the Dow Jones Special Committee. The Journal said the committee was established in 2007 to review editorial standards and ethics at the paper.

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

Thomson added that Murray is “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”.

After almost 10 years as two different firms, News Corp and Fox Corp are reviewing a proposal from Fox Corp chair Rupert Murdoch, 91, to once again function as one company. Fox Corp operates Fox News among other outlets.

Murray was contracted to stay on as the Journal’s editor until June next year, according to the paper. He started at the Pittsburgh bureau of Dow Jones & Co in 1994 and became the editor of The Journal in June 2018.

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

The chief executive of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal, Almar Latour, said in a statement that “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”.

He added that Tucker “brings strong experience in international and digital journalism and an impressive track record in leading journalists”.