Matt Murray (BSJ87, MSJ88)

Dow Jones News Corporation

Matt Murray (BSJ87, MSJ88) works for Dow Jones News Corporation and served as the editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires New York until 2022. Inducted into Medill's Hall of Achievement in 2019, Murray encourages those thinking about a career in journalism to have serious fun.

Tell me about your career path. How did you get where you are today?

I started as a copy editor out of grad school, then went back to a local policy agency in Chicago and learned police reporting, met a Wall Street Journal editor and decided that was where I wanted to be, and over time managed to land an entry-level job. That was 26 years ago in April, and I held several beats and almost every senior editing job before becoming editor in chief in June 2018.

How has your Medill training helped you in your career?

Medill gave me the basic skills of newswriting, reporting, understanding of legal issues and a level of discipline and ambition.

What is a class or experience that sticks out in your mind and why?

Newswriting with the legendary Dick Hainey. He taught me all the basics of clean, compelling newswriting, getting out of the way of a story and being ruthless with my own copy.

What advice do you have for someone considering Medill?

Try lots of things, don't be wedded to one preconceived channel for your career, widely sample the opportunities and experiences across the university and be open to lots of things. Once you've got the tools for writing, you'll still need stuff to write about.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Have fun. Seriously. I know it sounds corny, but part of the reason we do this work is the enjoyment of meeting interesting people, going to different places and connecting with readers, viewers and listeners almost instantaneously. You have to love that and ride the highs.