The Wall Street Journal editorial board
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The Editorial Board at ''The Wall Street Journal'' is the
editorial board The editorial board is a group of experts, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take. Mass media At a newspaper, the editorial board usually consists of the editorial page editor, ...
of the New York newspaper ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''. The Editorial Board is known for its strong conservative positions which at times brings it into conflict with the ''Journals news side.


Overview

''The Wall Street Journal'' editorial board members oversee the ''Journal'''s editorial page, dictating the tone and direction of the newspaper's opinion section. Every Saturday and Sunday, three editorial page writers and host
Paul Gigot Paul Anthony Gigot (; born May 24, 1955) is an American Pulitzer Prize–winning conservative political commentator and editor of the editorial pages for ''The Wall Street Journal''. He is also the moderator of the public affairs television seri ...
, editor of the Editorial Page, appear on Fox News Channel's ''
Journal Editorial Report The ''Journal Editorial Report'' is a weekly American interview and panel discussion TV program on Fox News Channel, hosted by Paul Gigot, editorial page editor of ''The Wall Street Journal''. Prior to moving to Fox News, the show aired on PBS f ...
'' to discuss current issues with a variety of guests. As editors of the editorial page, Vermont C. Royster (served 1958–1971) and Robert L. Bartley (served 1972–2000) were especially influential in providing a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
interpretation of the news on a daily basis.Richard Vetter, "Wall Street Journal", in Bruce Frohnen, ed. '' American Conservatism'' (2006), pp. 898–99.


History

The ''Journal'' describes the history of its editorials: Its historical position was much the same. As former editor William H. Grimes wrote in 1951: Each
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...
the editorial page prints two articles that have appeared there since 1961. The first is titled ''The Desolate Wilderness'', and describes what the Pilgrims saw when they arrived at the
Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was, from 1620 to 1691, the first permanent English colony in New England and the second permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. It was first settled by the passengers on the ...
. The second is titled ''And the Fair Land'', and describes the bounty of America. It was written by a former editor, Vermont C. Royster, whose Christmas article ''In Hoc Anno Domini'' has appeared every December 25 since 1949. Contrasts have been noted between the ''Journal'''s news reporting and its editorial pages. "While ''Journal'' reporters keep busy informing readers," wrote one reporter in 1982, "''Journal'' editorial writers put forth views that often contradict the paper's best reporting and news analysis." Two summaries published in 1995 by the progressive blog
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) is a progressive left-leaning media critique organization based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1986 by Jeff Cohen and Martin A. Lee. FAIR monitors American news media for bias, inaccu ...
, and in 1996 by the ''
Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its contents include news and media industry trends, an ...
'' criticized the ''Journal'' editorial page for inaccuracy during the 1980s and 1990s. One reference work in 2011 described the editorial pages as "rigidly neoconservative" while noting that the news coverage "has enjoyed a sterling reputation among readers of all political stripes". When Rupert Murdoch bought the Journal from the Bancrofts he promised
Paul Steiger Paul Steiger (born August 15, 1942) is an American journalist who served as managing editor of '' The Wall Street Journal'' from 1991 until May 15, 2007. After that, he was the founding editor-in-chief, CEO and president of ProPublica from 2008 thr ...
that “What is on the Opinion pages will never be allowed to flow into the news pages,” and “The two must be kept distinct and while I sometimes find myself nodding in agreement with the comment and commentators, even I occasionally find the views a little too far to the right.” In 2016 the environmental business group Partnership for Responsible Growth took out ads in the opinion section of the Journal which criticized the Board's position on climate change. The candidacy and later Presidency of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
split the Editorial Board and further separated the Board from the Journal's news department. As a result of the conflict a number of staff including
Bret Stephens Bret Louis Stephens (born November 21, 1973) is an American conservative journalist, editor, and columnist. He began working as an opinion columnist for ''The New York Times'' in April 2017 and as a senior contributor to NBC News in June 2017. ...
, Bari Weiss, Robert Messenger, and
Sohrab Ahmari Sohrab Ahmari ( fa, سهراب احمری, translit=Sohrāb Aḥmarī, translit-std=ALA-LC; born February 1, 1985) is an Iranian American columnist, editor, and author of nonfiction books. He is a founding editor of the online magazine ''Compact ...
left the WSJ. After first backing
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...
the board dramatically shifted its support to Trump; according to editors who left the board this shift was due to
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
realizing that Trump could win the election. In July 2020, more than 280 ''Journal'' journalists and Dow Jones staff members wrote a letter to new publisher Almar Latour to criticize the opinion pages' "lack of fact-checking and transparency, and its apparent disregard for evidence", adding that "opinion articles often make assertions that are contradicted by ''WSJ'' reporting." Among the pieces criticized in the letter was a Mike Pence written one entitled "There Isn't a Coronavirus 'Second Wave.'" The editorial board responded that its opinion pages "won't wilt under cancel-culture pressure" and that the objective of the editorial content is to be independent of the ''Journal''s news content and offer alternative views to "the uniform progressive views that dominate nearly all of today's media." The board's response did not address issues regarding fact-checking that had been raised in the letter.


Positions and views


Economic views

During the Reagan administration, the editorial page was particularly influential as the leading voice for supply-side economics. Under the editorship of Robert L. Bartley, it expounded at length on economic concepts such as the Laffer curve, and how a decrease in certain marginal tax rates and the
capital gains tax A capital gains tax (CGT) is the tax on profits realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals, real estate, and property. Not all countries impose a c ...
could allegedly increase overall tax revenue by generating more economic activity. In the economic argument of
exchange rate regime An exchange rate regime is a way a monetary authority of a country or currency union manages the currency about other currencies and the foreign exchange market. It is closely related to monetary policy and the two are generally dependent on many ...
s (one of the most divisive issues among economists), the ''Journal'' has a tendency to support
fixed exchange rate A fixed exchange rate, often called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime in which a currency's value is fixed or pegged by a monetary authority against the value of another currency, a basket of other currencies, or another ...
s over floating exchange rates.


Political stance

The ''Journal'' editorial pages and columns, run separately from the news pages, have a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
bent and are highly influential in establishment conservative circles. Despite this, the ''Journal'' refrains from endorsing candidates and has not endorsed a candidate since 1928. Some of the ''Journal''s former reporters claim that the paper has adopted a more conservative tone since Rupert Murdoch's purchase. The editorial board has long argued for a pro-business immigration policy. In a July 3, 1984, editorial the board wrote: "If Washington still wants to 'do something' about immigration, we propose a five-word constitutional amendment: There shall be
open borders An open border is a border that enables free movement of people (and often of goods) between jurisdictions with no restrictions on movement and is lacking substantive border control. A border may be an open border due to intentional legislation ...
." This stand on immigration reform places the ''Journal'' in contrast to most conservative activists, politicians, and media publications, such as ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...
'' and ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughou ...
'', who favor heightened restrictions on immigration. The ''Journal'' editorial page has been seen as critical of many aspects of
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
's presidency. In particular, it has been a prominent critic of the
Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...
legislation passed in 2010, and has featured many opinion columns attacking various aspects of the bill. The ''Journal'' editorial page has also criticized the Obama administration's energy policies and foreign policy. On October 25, 2017, the editorial board called for Special Counsel Robert Mueller to resign from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and accused Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign of colluding with Russia. In December 2017, the editorial board repeated its calls for Mueller's resignation. The Board criticized Mueller's handling of
Peter Strzok Peter Paul Strzok II (, like ''struck''; born March 7, 1970) is a former United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent. He was the Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division and led the investigation into R ...
and questioned Mueller's credibility. A piece published by the Board from a contributor claimed that the investigation would "imperil the rule of law". The editorials by the editorial board caused fractures within ''The Wall Street Journal'', as reporters said that the editorials undermined the paper's credibility. In October 2021, the editorial board let former President Donald Trump publish a letter in the editorial pages of the paper. The news sources described the contents of the letter as false and debunked claims about the 2020 presidential election. The decision to publish the letter was poorly received by many on the Journal's news side. In response to criticism of the ''Journals decision to publish the letter, the editorial board said the criticism was "cancel-culture pressure". In 2022, an editorial called a story told by President Joe Biden about a 10-year-old Ohio girl who was forced to cross state lines to obtain an abortion following a rape "fanciful" and an "unlikely story". The piece also accused the girl's obstetrician-gynecologist of having a "long history of abortion activism in the media". Following confirmation that the story was true, a note was added to the editorial.


Science

The ''Journal'' is regarded as a forum for climate change deniers, publishing articles by individuals that reject the consensus position on climate change in its op-ed section. The ''Journal'' editorial pages were described as a "forum for climate change denial" in 2011 due to columns that attacked climate scientists and accused them of engaging in fraud. A 2011 study found that the ''Journal'' was alone among major American print news media in how, mainly in its editorial pages, it adopted a
false balance False balance, also bothsidesism, is a media bias in which journalists present an issue as being more balanced between opposing viewpoints than the evidence supports. Journalists may present evidence and arguments out of proportion to the act ...
that overplayed the uncertainty in climate science or denied anthropogenic climate change altogether. That year, the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
described the ''Journal'''s editorial pages as "a place friendly to climate change skeptics". In 2013, the editorial board and other opinion writers vocally criticized President
Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
's plan to address climate change, mostly without mentioning climate science. A 2015 study found ''The Wall Street Journal'' was the newspaper that was least likely to present negative
effects of global warming The effects of climate change impact the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. The environmental effects of climate change are broad and far-reaching. They affect the water cycle, oceans, sea and land ice (glaciers), sea lev ...
among several newspapers. It was also the most likely to present negative economic framing when discussing climate change mitigation policies, tending to take the stance that the cost of such policies generally outweighs their benefit.
Climate Feedback Climate Feedback (CF) is a web-based content annotation tool that allows qualified scientists to comment on stories online, adding context and noting inaccuracies. It is one of three websites under the Science Feedback parent organization that ...
, a fact-checking website on media coverage of climate science, determined that multiple opinion articles range between "low" and "very low" in terms of scientific credibility. The Partnership for Responsible Growth stated in 2016 that 14% of the guest editorials on climate change presented the results of "mainstream climate science", while the majority did not. The Partnership also determined that none of the 201 editorials concerning climate change that were published in ''The Wall Street Journal'' since 1997 conceded that the burning of fossil fuels is the main cause of climate change. In the 1980s and 1990s, the ''Journal'' published numerous columns opposing and misrepresenting the scientific consensus on the harms of
second-hand smoke Passive smoking is the inhalation of tobacco smoke, called secondhand smoke (SHS), or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), by persons other than the intended "active" smoker. It occurs when tobacco smoke enters an environment, causing its inhalat ...
. A 1994 opinion article said that “the anti-smoking brigade relies on proving that secondhand smoke is a dangerous threat to the health of others. ‘Science’ is invoked in ways likely to give science a bad name. . . . e health effects of secondhand smoke are a stretch.” The board opposed and misrepresented the consensus on acid rain and ozone depletion, but later recognized that efforts to curb acid rain through cap-and-trade had been successful, a decade after the Clean Air Act Amendments. The editorial board has targeted policy efforts to curb pesticides and asbestos.


Board Members


Current

* Daniel Henninger * Dorothy Rabinowitz * James Freeman * Jason L. Riley *
Paul Gigot Paul Anthony Gigot (; born May 24, 1955) is an American Pulitzer Prize–winning conservative political commentator and editor of the editorial pages for ''The Wall Street Journal''. He is also the moderator of the public affairs television seri ...
*
Peggy Noonan Margaret Ellen Noonan (born 1950), known as Peggy Noonan, is a weekly columnist for ''The Wall Street Journal'', and contributor to NBC News and ABC News. She was a primary speechwriter and Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan from 1984 t ...


Former

* Bari Weiss *
Bret Stephens Bret Louis Stephens (born November 21, 1973) is an American conservative journalist, editor, and columnist. He began working as an opinion columnist for ''The New York Times'' in April 2017 and as a senior contributor to NBC News in June 2017. ...
* Joseph Rago *
Joe Morgenstern Joe Morgenstern (born October 3, 1932) is an American writer and retired film critic. He wrote for ''Newsweek'' from 1965 to 1983, and then for ''The Wall Street Journal'' from 1995 to 2022. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2005. Morgen ...
* Mark Lasswell *
Manuela Hoelterhoff Manuela Vali Hoelterhoff is a German-born American cultural journalist, who was the executive editor of ''Muse'', the arts and culture section of Bloomberg News until 2015. She is a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism laureate. Personal life and educati ...
* Robert L. Bartley * Robert Messenger * Robert L. Pollock * Vermont C. Royster *
Sohrab Ahmari Sohrab Ahmari ( fa, سهراب احمری, translit=Sohrāb Aḥmarī, translit-std=ALA-LC; born February 1, 1985) is an Iranian American columnist, editor, and author of nonfiction books. He is a founding editor of the online magazine ''Compact ...


Awards

The ''Journal'' won its first two Pulitzer Prizes for editorial writing in 1947 and 1953. In 1980 Robert L. Bartley was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. In 1983 Manuela Hoelterhoff was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for criticism for her "wide-ranging criticism on the arts and other subjects." In 1984 Vermont Royster was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. In 2000 Paul Gigot's column "Potomac Watch" won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. In 2001 Dorothy Rabinowitz was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for commentary for "articles on American society and culture." In 2005 Joe Morgenstern was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for criticism for "reviews that elucidated the strengths and weaknesses of film with rare insight, authority and wit." In 2006 Robert Pollock won the Gerald Loeb Award for commentary. In 2011 Joseph Rago was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. In 2013 Bret Stephens was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for commentary for "incisive columns on American foreign policy and domestic politics, often enlivened by a contrarian twist." In 2017 Peggy Noonan was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for commentary "For rising to the moment with beautifully rendered columns that connected readers to the shared virtues of Americans during one of the nation’s most divisive political campaigns."


See also

* Brian Carney (editorialist) * Holman W. Jenkins Jr * Stephen Moore (writer) * Mary O'Grady * Nancy deWolf Smith * Kimberley A. Strassel * Amity Shlaes


References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em Conservative media in the United States The Wall Street Journal