Almar Latour

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Almar Latour
NationalityDutch
Alma materIndiana University of Pennsylvania
OccupationCEO, Dow Jones and Company
EmployerNews Corp
Spouse(s)Abby
Children2
Websitehttps://www.dowjones.com/team/almar-latour/

Almar Latour is a media executive and current CEO of Dow Jones and Company.

Early life and education[]

Latour grew up in the small Dutch town of Welten. During his childhood education he studied German, English, Dutch, and French. Through the Fulbright Program, Latour came to the United States in 1990 to study at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He graduated with Bachelor of Arts degrees in journalism and political science. He also earned a master's degree from American University.[1]

Career[]

Latour began his career working at student newspaper The Penn as a feature editor, as a reporter for a newspaper at New York State's Chautauqua resort and interning at a Dutch newspaper, The Washington Times and at The Wall Street Journal where his story appeared on the front page of the European edition.[2]

In 1995, Latour was hired as a news assistant in the Washington bureau of The Wall Street Journal. Latour spent time in the London bureau and then moved to the New York office where he joined, and later led, the Journal's technology team. Latour helped lead the transformation and redesign of the Journal's online presence, reaching 1 million digital subscribers.[2][3][4]

In 2012, Latour became the executive editor of the Journal, Dow Jones, and MarketWatch.[2]

In 2016, Latour was appointed editor and publisher of the newly formed Dow Jones Media Group, later renamed as Barron's Group.[5] As publisher he set ambitious goals for each brand. Between 2016 and 2019, Barron's grew its subscriber base by 125% to 299,000 subscribers.[6]

Dow Jones CEO[]

On May 4, 2020, Dow Jones announced Latour would replace William Lewis as CEO. He assumed the role on May 15, 2020.[3]

On July 21, 2020, more than 280 Journal journalists and Dow Jones staff members wrote a letter to Latour criticizing the opinion pages' "lack of fact-checking and transparency, and its apparent disregard for evidence," adding, "opinion articles often make assertions that are contradicted by WSJ reporting." The letter cited examples including a June 2020 opinion piece by vice president Mike Pence that contained errors, asserting that "scrutinizing these numbers would have required no more than a Google search."[7][8]

He is reported to have a strained relationship with Matt Murray, editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal, a Dow Jones publication.[9]

Personal life[]

Latour met his wife Abby, a journalist, in Stockholm. They live in New York along with their two daughters, one of whom is Maude Latour, a budding musician.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ "IUP Alumni Community - Latour, Almour '94". IUP Alumni. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Gresh, Karen. "Onetime Dutch Exchange Student Directs Dow Jones Digital Empire". IUP Magazine. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Padilla, Mariel (May 4, 2020). "Almar Latour Is Named Chief Executive of Dow Jones". The New York Times. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  4. ^ Staps, Freek (August 25, 2015). "Want to create a more digital newsroom? Find your inner startup". Nieman Lab. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  5. ^ Pompeo, Joe (January 5, 2016). "Dow Jones creates new publishing unit". Politico. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  6. ^ Willens, Max (May 6, 2020). "'He knows how to navigate': New Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour is a former reporter who rose the ranks". Digiday. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  7. ^ Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. (July 22, 2020). "WSJ Journalists Ask Publisher for Clearer Distinction Between News and Opinion Content". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  8. ^ McLaughlin, Aidan (July 22, 2020). "WSJ Reporters Call Out Misinformation and 'Disregard For Evidence' From Paper's Opinion Section in Scathing Letter". Mediaite. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  9. ^ Lee, Edmund (April 10, 2021). "Inside the Fight for the Future of The Wall Street Journal". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
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