The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board
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The editorial board at ''The Wall Street Journal'' writes opinion articles at the behest of
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
's owner or publisher, and selects opinion articles by outside parties for publication. The
editorial board The editorial board is a group of editors, writers, and other people who are charged with implementing a publication's approach to editorials and other opinion pieces. The editorials published normally represent the views or goals of the publicat ...
is known for its strong
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
positions which at times brings it into conflict with the ''Journal''s
news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...
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, editor of the Editorial Page, appear on
Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...
's '' Journal Editorial Report'' 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 and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
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 October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...
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 spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...
. 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 Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
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, 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 original purpose was "to assess the performance ...
'' 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 Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
bought the ''Journal'' from the
Bancroft family The Bancroft family are the former owners of Dow Jones & Company, which is now owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation (NewsCorp). Biography The Bancroft family were publicly reclusive Boston socialites who inherited ''The Wall Street Journal ...
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 Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
. The candidacy and later Presidency of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
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, Bari Weiss, Robert Messenger, and Sohrab Ahmari left the ''WSJ''. After first backing
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward 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 was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...
the board dramatically shifted its support to Trump; according to editors who left the board this shift was due to Rupert Murdoch 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 Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
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 Fact-checking is the process of verifying the factual accuracy of questioned reporting and statements. Fact-checking can be conducted before or after the text or content is published or otherwise disseminated. Internal fact-checking is such che ...
that had been raised in the letter.


Positions and views


Economic views

During the
Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following his landslide victory over ...
, the editorial page was particularly influential as the leading voice for
supply-side economics Supply-side economics is a Macroeconomics, macroeconomic theory postulating that economic growth can be most effectively fostered by Tax cuts, lowering taxes, Deregulation, decreasing regulation, and allowing free trade. According to supply- ...
. Under the editorship of Robert L. Bartley, it expounded at length on economic concepts such as the
Laffer curve In economics, the Laffer curve illustrates a theoretical relationship between tax rate, rates of taxation and the resulting levels of the government's tax revenue. The Laffer curve assumes that no tax revenue is raised at the extreme tax rates ...
, and how a decrease in certain
marginal tax rate In a tax system, the tax rate is the ratio (usually expressed as a percentage) at which a business or person is taxed. The tax rate that is applied to an individual's or corporation's income is determined by tax laws of the country and can be in ...
s 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. In South Africa, capital g ...
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 currency basket, basket of other currenc ...
s over
floating exchange rate In macroeconomics and economic policy, a floating exchange rate (also known as a fluctuating or flexible exchange rate) is a type of exchange rate regime in which a currency's value is allowed to fluctuate in response to foreign exchange market ...
s.


Political stance

The ''Journal'' editorial pages and
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...
s, run separately from the news pages, have a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
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-human-rights
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...
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 a border control. A border may be an open border due to intentional legislation allowing fr ...
." This stand on
immigration reform Immigration reform is change to the current immigration policy of a country. In its strict definition, ''reform'' means "to change into an improved form or condition, by amending or removing faults or abuses". In the political sense, "immigratio ...
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 William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
'' and ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...
'', who favor heightened restrictions on immigration. In the 2000s, the ''Journal'' was a major booster of the
Iraq war The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
and false claims that Iraq had
weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a Biological agent, biological, chemical weapon, chemical, Radiological weapon, radiological, nuclear weapon, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great dam ...
. 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 was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
'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 (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
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 Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...
. On October 25, 2017, the editorial board called for Special Counsel
Robert Mueller Robert Swan Mueller III (; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013. A graduate of Princeton University and New York University, Mueller served a ...
to resign from the investigation into
Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections The Russian government conducted Foreign electoral intervention, foreign electoral interference in the 2016 United States elections with the goals of sabotaging the Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign, presidential campaign of Hillar ...
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 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
editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK), is an article or any other written document, often unsigned, written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper or magazine, that expresses the publication's opinion about ...
s 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. 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 ''Journal''s 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 Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
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 An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...
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, known colloquially as 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 pr ...
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 not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
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'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 Effects of climate change are well documented and growing for Earth's natural environment and human societies. Changes to the climate system include an overall warming trend, changes to precipitation patterns, and more extreme weather. As ...
among several newspapers. It was also the most likely to present negative economic framing when discussing
climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include energy conservation, conserving energy and Fossil fuel phase-out, repl ...
policies, tending to take the stance that the cost of such policies generally outweighs their benefit.
Climate Feedback Climate change feedbacks are natural processes that impact how much global temperatures will increase for a given amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Positive feedbacks amplify global warming while negative feedbacks diminish it.IPCC, 2021Annex ...
, 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 fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...
s is the main cause of climate change. In the 1980s and 1990s, the ''Journal'' published numerous columns opposing and misrepresenting the
scientific consensus Scientific consensus is the generally held judgment, position, and opinion of the majority or the supermajority of scientists in a particular field of study at any particular time. Consensus is achieved through scholarly communication at confer ...
on the harms of
second-hand smoke Passive smoking is the inhalation of tobacco smoke, called passive smoke, secondhand smoke (SHS) or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), by individuals other than the active smoker. It occurs when tobacco smoke diffuses into the surrounding atm ...
. 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 Acid rain is rain or any other form of Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists b ...
and
ozone depletion Ozone depletion consists of two related events observed since the late 1970s: a lowered total amount of ozone in Earth, Earth's upper atmosphere, and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone (the ozone layer) around Earth's polar ...
, but later recognized that efforts to curb acid rain through
cap-and-trade Carbon emission trading (also called carbon market, emission trading scheme (ETS) or cap and trade) is a type of emissions trading scheme designed for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). A form of carbon pricing, its purpose ...
had been successful, a decade after the Clean Air Act Amendments. The editorial board has targeted policy efforts to curb
pesticide Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all p ...
and
asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...
use.


Board Members


Current

* Paul Gigot (editor-in-chief) * James Freeman (assistant editor) *
Daniel Henninger Daniel Henninger is an American commentator. He serves as the deputy editorial page director of ''The Wall Street Journal'', and is a Fox News contributor. Early life Henninger was born in Cleveland, Ohio to David R. Henninger and Aileen M. Henn ...
* Dorothy Rabinowitz * Jason L. Riley * Peggy Noonan * Kimberley Strassel * William McGurn * Mary O'Grady * Allysia Finley * Joseph Sternberg * Kyle Peterson * Kate Bachelder Odell


Former

* Bret Stephens * Joseph Rago * Mary Kissel * Claudia Rosett *
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. Morge ...
* Mark Lasswell * Manuela Hoelterhoff * Robert L. Bartley * Robert Messenger * Robert L. Pollock * Vermont C. Royster


Awards

The ''Journal'' won its first two
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
s 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 The Gerald Loeb Awards, also referred to as the Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, is a recognition of excellence in journalism, especially in the fields of business, finance and the economy. The award was e ...
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 The Wall Street Journal Newspaper content