Emma Tucker defends White House dinner with News Corp. execs
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Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker and Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour speak with Axios' Sara Fischer at Media Trends Live on Oct. 20 in New York City. Photo: Jonathan Heisler for Axios
Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker defended attending the White House dinner with News Corp. executives earlier this month.
- "Look, I'm a journalist. I was not going to say no to a dinner with the president of the United States," she told Axios on stage at its annual Media Trends Live event in New York City Tuesday.
Why it matters: The dinner raised eyebrows not only because the Journal is locked in a legal battle with President Trump, but also because of the Trump administration's unprecedented pressure on the press, particularly for outlets whose owners have ties to the president.
Zoom in: Tucker said the dinner was "interesting" and that it's good Trump wanted to engage with the Journal. "He's clearly reading us and cares about what we do."
- Tucker declined to offer further details on the dinner.
- She noted the Trump administration engages on different levels. "You can be doing one thing at one level and having a conversation at a different level. So the more conversations, the better."
Zoom out: The Trump administration has been locked in legal fights in recent weeks over press access and pool coverage.
- Dozens of news outlets, including Axios and WSJ parent Dow Jones, have supported their peers targeted by efforts to bar them from the White House, arguing efforts to do so are illegal and unconstitutional.
- Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour declined to comment on ongoing litigation, but told Axios at Media Trends Live, "We defend our journalists. We believe in standing up for free press."
Catch up quick: Since Tucker assumed the editor-in-chief role in 2023, the Journal's digital subscriptions have surged from 3.2 million to 4.45 million as of June 30.
- She said tough decisions helped the newsroom execute on the strategy she laid out early in her tenure. "It's not easy restructuring, it's hard. But once you've done it, the results speak for themselves."
The big picture: News and information companies have found new opportunities in the AI era to monetize their vast troves of proprietary and niche data.
- "All of our data sits in one place and can be extracted and arranged and rearranged to benefit end users, whether they are consumers or professionals. ... AI is going to be an accelerant for that," Latour said.
- "There is not a part of the business that is not touched by AI in some manner, and that is not an overstatement whatsoever," Latour said.
What's next: Tucker and Latour emphasized the company's ambitions in video, pointing to new hires and job listings to support that effort.
- "We're about recurring revenue. We're about high-quality content and high-quality news. And I think those themes will be echoed on any platform in which we are going to be active," Latour said.
