Richard Tofel is the principal of Gallatin Advisory, a journalism consultancy, and former president of ProPublica, a non-profit investigative journalism organization.
He was the general manager of ProPublica from its founding in 2007 until 2012, and served as president from January 1, 2013 until September, 2021, [1] succeeded by Robin Sparkman. Previously, he was the president and chief operating officer of the International Freedom Center. Tofel took over that position in October 2004.
Tofel served as a vice president of Dow Jones & Company from 1997 until joining the International Freedom Center, and as the assistant publisher of The Wall Street Journal beginning in 2002. In the latter capacity, the Journal's international editions reported to him. He was also a director on the joint venture boards of SmartMoney and Vedomosti, the leading Russian business newspaper. He played leading roles in the development of the forthcoming Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition, in the redesign of the Journal and the creation of the Personal Journal section in 2002, and in Dow Jones's response to the events of September 11, 2001.
Tofel's earlier roles at Dow Jones included assistant general counsel (1989–1992), assistant managing editor of the Journal (1992–1995), director of international administration and development (1995–1997) vice president of corporate communications (1997–2000), and assistant to the publisher of the Journal (2000–2002). Before joining Dow Jones, Tofel was an associate at the New York law firm of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler from 1983 to 1986. Mr. Tofel moved to the New York office of Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher in 1986.
A native New Yorker, Tofel's previous public service includes stints during the administration of New York City Mayor Edward Koch as executive director of the Beattie Commission on reorganizing the Human Resources Administration and as a member of the Liman Commission investigating the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Tofel earned a bachelor's degree, a law degree and a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University. He is the author of three books: A Legend in the Making: The New York Yankees in 1939 (2002), Vanishing Point: The Disappearance of Judge Crater, and the New York He Left Behind (2004), and Sounding the Trumpet: The Making of John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address (2005). He is a member of the board of trustees of Wildcat Service Corp., the advisory board of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship Program in Economics and Business Journalism at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Tofel has two children with Jeanne Straus, daughter of Ellen Sulzberger Straus and R. Peter Straus, whom he married in 1982. [2] The marriage ended in divorce. On December 12, 2010, he married Janice Nittoli. [3]
Dow Jones & Company, Inc. is an American publishing firm owned by News Corp and led by CEO Almar Latour.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), also referred to simply as theJournal, is an American newspaper based in New York City, with a focus on business and finance. It operates on a subscription model, requiring readers to pay for access to its articles and content. The Journal is published six days a week by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corp. The first issue was published on July 8, 1889.
The National Observer was a weekly American general-interest national newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company from 1962 until July 11, 1977. Hunter S. Thompson wrote several articles for the National Observer as the correspondent for Latin America early in his career.
Barron's is an American weekly magazine/newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corp, since 1921.
The International Freedom Center (IFC) was a proposed museum to be located adjacent to the site of Ground Zero at the former World Trade Center in New York City, USA. It was selected in 2004 to comprise a "cultural space" near to the memorial for victims of the September 11 attacks, called Reflecting Absence.
Take Back The Memorial is an organization which advocates keeping the memorial site of the World Trade Center in New York City focused on the memory of the victims who died there in the attacks of September 11, 2001. In 2005, the group was part of a successful effort to cancel the International Freedom Center as part of the World Trade Center Memorial.
Karen Elliott House is an American journalist and former managing editor at The Wall Street Journal and its parent company Dow Jones. She served as President of Dow Jones International and then publisher of the Wall Street Journal before her retirement in the spring of 2006. Her awards include a Pulitzer Prize.
Gerard Baker is a British writer and columnist. He was Dow Jones' Managing Editor, and The Wall Street Journal's Editor-in-Chief from March 2013 until June 2018. Baker stepped down as WSJ Editor-in-Chief and transitioned into the role of Editor-at-Large. He was succeeded by WSJ executive editor Matt Murray.
Louis Gordon Crovitz is an American media executive and advisor to media and technology companies. He is a former publisher of The Wall Street Journal who also served as executive vice-president of Dow Jones and launched the company's Consumer Media Group, which under his leadership integrated the global print, online, digital, TV and other editions of The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch.com and Barron's across news, advertising, marketing and other functions. He stepped down from those positions in December 2007, when News Corp. completed its acquisition of Dow Jones. He writes a weekly column in The Wall Street Journal, titled "Information Age."
Bernard (Barney) Kilgore was a managing editor of The Wall Street Journal from 1941 to 1965 and head of the Dow Jones company.
Robert Leroy Bartley was the editor of the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal for more than 30 years. He won a Pulitzer Prize for opinion writing and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from the Bush administration in 2003. Bartley, a graduate of Iowa State University, was famed for providing a conservative interpretation of the news every day, especially regarding economic issues. The Forbes Media Guide Five Hundred, 1994 states:
Daniel Hertzberg is a former American journalist. Hertzberg is a 1968 graduate of the University of Chicago. He married Barbara Kantrowitz, on August 29, 1976. He was the former senior deputy managing editor and later deputy managing editor for international news at The Wall Street Journal. Starting in July 2009, Hertzberg served as senior editor-at-large and then as executive editor for finance at Bloomberg News in New York City before retiring in February 2014.
WSJ Magazine is a luxury glossy news and lifestyle monthly magazine published by The Wall Street Journal. It features luxury consumer products advertisements and is distributed to subscribers in large United States markets. Its coverage spans art, fashion, entertainment, design, food, architecture, travel and more. Kristina O'Neill was Editor in Chief from October 2012 to 2023. Sarah Ball, previously Style News Editor, became Editor in Chief in June 2023. Launched as a quarterly in 2008, the magazine grew to 12 issues a year for 2014. It was originally intended to be a monthly magazine named Pursuits.
Warren H. Phillips was an American journalist and publishing industry executive best known as the chief executive officer of Dow Jones & Company from March 1975 to January 1, 1991, and chairman of the board of Dow Jones from March 1978 until he retired in July 1991 at age 65.
James Friedlich is an American media and philanthropy executive. He serves as chief executive officer and executive director of the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, a non-profit organization that supports innovative journalism initiatives nationwide and is the owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He serves on the board of directors of digital jobs marketplace Dice Holdings, Inc., and is an investor in several digital media and technology companies. Friedlich held senior operating positions at Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal and was a board director of CNBC International. He was a seed investor in Business Insider before its sale to Axel Springer in 2015.
Joseph Rago was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American political writer, best known for his work at The Wall Street Journal.
Ronald Peter Straus was an American media proprietor. He was the president of WMCA, a radio station in New York City, and the chairman of Straus News, a publisher of newspapers in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He was the director of Voice of America from 1977 to 1979.
Ellen Sulzberger Straus was an American businesswoman and philanthropist who founded the United States' first telephone help line.
Almar Latour is a media executive and current CEO of Dow Jones and Company.
The editorial board at The Wall Street Journal is the editorial board of the New York City newspaper The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The editorial board is known for its strong conservative positions which at times brings it into conflict with the Journal's news side.