Almar Latour already had greater than a full plate as writer of the Wall Road Journal and CEO of its mum or dad Dow Jones when his telephone rang whereas he was on a enterprise journey in South Africa in March 2023. The Journal’s newsroom had been unable to succeed in Russia correspondent Evan Gershkovich for days and feared, appropriately because it turned out, that he had been arrested and brought hostage.
Thus landed one other enveloping problem for Latour — learn how to convey the group’s full sources to bear to free Gershkovich.
Eighteen months later, he and Dow Jones can declare success in preserving enterprise percolating and getting their hostage again.
The corporate closed its fiscal 12 months on the finish of June with income and income up, promoting losses average and paid digital subscriptions persevering with to develop quick.
Gershkovich was freed in a complex hostage exchange deal on Aug. 1 after a concerted diplomatic and advocacy push.
Neither accomplishment was something near a solo act, Latour advised me in an interview in early September. Nonetheless, Dow Jones’ outcomes underneath his watch can clearly be traced to his four-year deal with increase its different monetary companies alongside the flagship Journal.
“Loud” advocacy was shortly recognized as a essential technique for getting Russia to free Gershkovich, Latour has stated. He and editor-in-chief Emma Tucker supplied a relentless drumbeat from the bully pulpit of their information group. They even purchased a “Let’s Bring Evan Home” billboard in Times Square on the one-year anniversary of his seize.
As well as, Latour advised me, he took cost of behind-the-scenes “personal diplomacy” in tandem with the official negotiations of the federal authorities, which focuses its work by means of a particular workplace of federal affairs. That proved essential in an extended push for the important thing precondition for the deal: Germany reluctantly agreeing to launch a convicted assassin from an extended jail time period to a hero’s welcome again in Russia.
The sequence of twin successes left me wanting to seek out out extra about Latour. Prime enterprise officers have a tendency to not be particularly well-known within the journalism group. (Fast, who’s the CEO of The New York Instances?) Although certainly not inaccessible — he offers speeches and, selectively, interviews — Latour appeared to me flying notably low beneath the radar.
I questioned about his again story, and it’s an attention-grabbing one: He grew up within the Netherlands, got here to the U.S. after highschool for “a spot 12 months that became 30 years,” began as a information assistant on the Journal and labored up the editorial ranks earlier than pivoting to the highest ranges of the enterprise aspect.
As to the monetary facet of his job, Latour has delivered outcomes which might be positive to please his bosses at Rupert Murdoch’s Information Corp. His program to get extra worth from Dow Jones’ much less well-known business-to-business subsidiaries has at all times been a high precedence. He got here to the CEO place after additionally upping the sport of client titles Barron’s and MarketWatch. That supplied a operating begin.
“To not the exclusion of The Wall Road Journal in any respect,” he advised me, “however Dow Jones is a platform with experience in lots of areas.” He noticed the potential for progress and for knitting the person choices collectively in a approach that will enchantment to the corporate’s core enterprise viewers.
Wanting on the ventures one after the other, Latour stated, “You can see the place we had been doing nicely and the place there was room to fill within the blanks.” That focus has continued to the current.
“We will develop in 3 ways,” Latour continued: “Go deeper in an space, add new areas, or throughout the board meld the companies right into a bundle.”
In September, to take one occasion, the corporate introduced {that a} comparatively small executive leadership training service would expand in a giant approach. Risk management — the considerably arcane enterprise perform of evaluating threats together with political instability — and power have been different fast-growing performers. Some Dow Jones shoppers would possibly need all three.
In our interview and others, Latour stated that Dow Jones’s worth proposition to readers is deeply researched information and information that helps them in a sensible approach with enterprise selections, and with private finance and profession selections, as nicely.
He prefers a progress technique including to the enchantment of choices to a core enterprise viewers, together with those that are youthful, reasonably than making a play for a brand new set of basic readers.
Talking to the British media outlet Press Gazette early this year, he stated the Dow Jones publications search for “strategic” information story decisions whereas steering away from ones which might be merely “opportunistic.”
I requested him to elaborate. “We wish to be there for folks in enterprise and construct that relationship. … We don’t wish to deal with empty energy that may evaporate. … The whole lot we do pertains to that. … We’ve got to combat for it each day.”
Latour has taken the occasional shot at The New York Instances for elevating its softer cooking and video games verticals to engines for progress (neither to be discovered within the Journal). However he gave the impression to be referring to what he referred to as “political trend,” as nicely.
“Opportunism,” he continued, “partly is giving in to a broad political sentiment. … That may be a temptation to get extra traction, extra eyeballs brief time period. … We would favor to be extra above the fray, even-keeled each day.”
Almar Latour and WSJ editor-in-chief Emma Tucker joined the 2024 DLD Convention in Munich to debate the combat for press freedom and efforts to safe the discharge of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich.
(Sebastian Gabriel/image alliance for DLD/Hubert Burda Media)
If the Journal is usually out of step in limiting its slams at Trump, so be it. Latour referred me to a stern memo a month in the past from editor Tucker to her workers.
Headlined “A notice on impartiality,” it stated, amongst different issues, “It’s vital for each member of the newsroom to do not forget that the Journal’s repute for honest and balanced protection rests on all of us. The reporting we produce on each matter must be constantly neutral, demonstrating that we’ve got taken an open-minded and unbiased strategy to gathering details and telling tales. That applies to the language we select, our framing of tales and the voices and views we embrace, and is equally vital in all of our visible storytelling. Stability in our work additionally applies to the themes we select to cowl. I encourage you to problem your individual assumptions and people of your sources.”
That’s to not say the Journal geese political tales which may be devastating to 1 aspect or the opposite — supplied they’re nicely sufficient reported and written. Examples embrace a very sturdy on-the-ground piece on what’s really happening in Springfield, Ohio, and an early tough take on President Joe Biden’s mental lapses.
Sticking to the usual of what’s most important and dependable additionally helps clarify why Latour and Tucker took unpopular motion within the first half of the 12 months, abruptly cutting staffing in the Washington and regional bureaus. A lot of these slots had been reassigned to matter beats like finance and economics or nationwide affairs they think about increased influence for the target market.
It isn’t doable to inform from Securities and Alternate Fee filings how the Journal is doing financially. The Journal is only one a part of Dow Jones, which in flip is only one a part of its mum or dad Information Corp. — which additionally consists of British newspapers, Australian broadcast and newspapers, and the New York Put up (however not Fox Information).
The corporate as a substitute selectively reveals details about the Journal and Dow Jones. What I noticed suggests income progress and profitability — in sharp distinction to The Washington Put up’s self-reported $77 million loss. Promoting revenues had been down, however solely 2% throughout the Dow Jones portfolio.
As with almost each paper, print circulation is on a quick slide. The Journal, in accordance with its newest Alliance of Audited Media report, had roughly 525,000 each day subscribers as of the tip of March. That was a decline of about 6% from the earlier six-month interval — but it surely stays by far the biggest American each day, with weekday circulation double the New York Instances’.
The Gershovich drama performed out over 16 months after he was seized by Russian authorities in late March 2023 and charged in early April. Latour advised me, as he had different interviewers, that Russia’s intentions had been clear from the beginning. The arrest had nothing a lot to do with the trumped-up fees and every thing to do with Russian President Vladimir Putin taking a hostage to get again valued operatives being held in Western international locations.
“Possibly at first, your intuition is, ‘Let’s tackle this within the quiet,’” Latour told Politico earlier this year, however that was not within the playing cards as a result of the detention was open information from the beginning. Plus, the sooner arrest of basketball star Brittney Griner and her eventual launch confirmed that “placing a highlight on it helps.”
Therefore the choice to advocate, with outrage, loudly and infrequently. Virtually as shortly, Latour advised me, it additionally was decided that alongside the federal government’s work on the case, “personal diplomacy was an vital a part of how a state of affairs like this will get resolved.” It made sense for him and Dow Jones to take cost.
Non-public diplomacy meant, for example, retaining the highest attorneys who handled hostage exchanges, Latour stated. Conversations with Gershkovich’s mother and father additionally confirmed him that they’d be able to advocating successfully for his or her son in lots of settings.
“We went to see decisionmakers (with them),“ he stated. The purpose was to get leaders to transcend Chilly Battle drama and “perceive the non-public stakes.”
There have been many stops on the household’s prolonged tour. Most stunningly, as associated in the Journal’s own lengthy story of how Gershkovich was freed, Latour took Evan’s mom, Ella Milman, to an elite reception at a gala of the Atlantic Council, of which he’s a board member.
She recognized German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, waited till he had completed a dialog with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, then buttonholed Scholz, asking for any assist he may present to free her son. Scholz stated he was already conscious of the state of affairs and attempting, however then he left shortly.
That was one in every of many such encounters the personal diplomacy effort engineered. Milman was the Journal’s visitor on the White Home Correspondents’ Affiliation annual dinner, the place she stood in a photograph line for Biden and made her case.
Dow Jones executives joined Evan’s household and associates from WilmerHale for a breakfast in Washington, D.C., earlier than heading to the White Home for the historic multilateral prisoner change that introduced Evan residence on August 1, 2024. Left to proper: Danielle Gershkovich (Evan’s sister), Anthony Huczek (Danielle’s husband), David Bowker (WilmerHale), Jason Conti (Dow Jones), Emma O’Brian (Dow Jones), Robert Kimmitt (WilmerHale), Almar Latour (Dow Jones), Ella Milman (Evan’s mom) and Mikhail Gershkovich (Evan’s father)
(Courtesy: Dow Jones)
Latour additionally took each mother and father to the World Financial Discussion board’s annual assembly in Davos, Switzerland, a magnet for the highest-level movers and shakers, the place they spoke. He escorted them on calls to members of Congress.
As well as, Latour advised me, “Just a few of us went to Germany, keenly conscious that the German authorities would play a component” in any decision. And that turned out to be the important thing occasion in lastly getting a hostage swap for Gershkovich — overcoming German resistance to returning infamous convicted murderer Vladimir Krasikov to Russia.
Lots of the negotiations, together with these of a particular White Home workplace for hostage affairs, might be described as secret. On the identical time, Latour and Tucker had been at occasions surprisingly open, even whereas the drama was unfolding, speaking in public settings about methods and the way hostage swaps work.
At a European convention early this 12 months, Tucker defined that Russia received’t do an change till there’s a trial and conviction. So Gershkovich’s secret sham trial in late June, whereas formally deplored in media stories, might be learn by these within the know as a constructive prelude to a decision.
Lastly, there could have been a component of luck in timing. Biden’s candidacy, post-debate, was collapsing by means of July. Lame duck standing was positive to observe shortly after his withdrawal July 20.
As a long profile in the New York Times Magazine associated, Biden had been concerned personally in conferences on the hostage negotiations proper alongside. In search of a giant win, he referred to as in a favor from the prime minister of Slovenia, Robert Golub, to clear the trail for the discharge of Russian prisoners in that nation.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had been on the tarmac at Andrews Air Drive Base with household the night time of Aug. 1 to greet Gershkovich as he touched again down on U.S. soil.
I requested Latour for a brief model of the story of how he went from rising up within the Netherlands to turning into CEO of Dow Jones.
Like many journalists, he acquired the bug early.
“I at all times had a ardour for information,” he stated. “As a teen in Holland, I wrote for the native paper, driving round city on my bicycle, gathering information.”
His communications chief, Ashok Sinha, tells me he nonetheless often bicycles to work in midtown Manhattan and works in an open-plan area.
“I additionally was fascinated by the USA,” Latour stated. Arranging for a 12 months after highschool, he ended up going to school right here and staying.
Nothing about the way in which Latour speaks signifies that he’s speaking in a second language. However being OK in that language was not ok for his plans. “I needed to study to write down and talk in English (at a journalist’s skilled degree).”
Wanting again, he continued, a very lucky expertise was a summer time internship on the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York. The establishment provides a nine-week summer time cultural program with 100,000 individuals and big-name figures as presenters. “At a younger age, I acquired snug connecting with gifted and influential folks.”
After an internship in Brussels, he joined the Journal as a information assistant and by no means left (he’s in his early 50s). As a reporter and author, he was prolific, often touchdown tales on the entrance web page. After some years of that, Latour stated, he grew to become interested in enhancing — “serving to others conceive tales. … It was a drive multiplier.”
Switching to enterprise in 2016 and beginning at a excessive degree “was the final word drive multiplier. You will have a grip on useful resource allocation, shifting the chess items round. I had a view of how that might be completed finest.”
Since nicely earlier than Rupert Murdoch acquired the Journal in 2008, its custom has been to decide on achieved journalists for the highest job. (The exception was former finance executive Rich Zannino. He suggested the Bancroft household, who managed voting inventory, that an infusion of funding was wanted and it was an excellent time to promote to Murdoch.)
Almar Latour meets with members of the OPIS staff within the Dow Jones London workplace.
(Courtesy: Dow Jones)
Murdoch has expressed choice for British and Australian journalists who he considers sooner and bolder than their U.S. counterparts. That approach of working has led to bother for Latour’s predecessor, Will Lewis, now operating The Washington Put up, whose critics say he was enmeshed in the Murdoch empire’s phone hacking scandal 15 years ago.
Editor Tucker comes from British papers, succeeding American Matt Murray, Lewis’s government editor on the Journal and now on the Put up. A number of of Murray’s predecessors had been British or Australian.
Latour doesn’t ship journalism with a British accent, however he has benefited from having one foot in U.S. tradition and one other in Europe. A quantity, however not all, of his postings as reporter, then editor, then writer, have been overseas, the place the Journal and different Dow Jones companies have a giant presence. The CEO job calls for lots of globe-trotting.
As for administration model, Latour stated that he loves water cooler chats and loves sharing story concepts with reporters and editors. However he provides a qualifier: “We wish to give them their independence (in deciding which to pursue).”
I see an mental perspective and a great deal of formality in how Latour handles the core of the job. Each editor Tucker and opinion editor Paul Gigot report back to him. Nonetheless, he by no means attends story conferences or editorial board deliberations, his communications staff stated. He was not on the desk this summer time as the corporate negotiated a contract with its 1,600-member union of Dow Jones editorial staff, union president Jodi Inexperienced advised me, however little doubt the negotiators reported the event to him.
Within the final sentence of our interview, Latour appeared to meld his government and writing expertise, saving me the difficulty of writing my very own kicker.
“We solely choose ourselves by outcomes,” he stated. “It’s fairly intense round right here.”
