NEW YORK, Aug. 12, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Wall Street Journal today announced two key appointments for its global opinion content.

Bret Stephens has been appointed deputy editorial page editor for the international opinion pages, effective immediately. He will be responsible for the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal Europe and Asia, both print and online, as well as the Far Eastern Economic Review and the columnists on foreign affairs. He will remain a member of the Journal editorial board and also continue to write his weekly Global View column. He will report to Paul Gigot, editor of the Journal's Editorial Page. Mr. Stephens succeeds Melanie Kirkpatrick, who recently retired after 29 years with the Journal.

Brian Carney, also a member of the editorial board, has been named editorial page editor of The Wall Street Journal Europe, a role in which he previously served from 2004 to 2005. He is relocating to London and will supervise the Journal's European opinion coverage in for the print and online editions. Mr. Carney will report to Mr. Stephens.

"Brian and Bret bring years of experience to their coverage of international economics, finance and politics," said Mr. Gigot. "They also share the Journal's philosophy on the importance of promoting free markets and democratic values, which offers readers a contrast to the general media consensus that supports larger government, higher taxes, and more regulation of the global economy."

About Mr. Stephens

Mr. Stephens has served as a member of the editorial board since 2004 and took over the Global View column, focusing on international affairs, in 2006. He won the Eric Breindel award in 2008 for his columns. From 2002 to 2004, Mr. Stephens served as editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, where he was responsible for the paper's news and editorial operations and wrote a weekly column. He joined the Journal in 1998 as an assistant features editor in New York, followed by a stint in Brussels as an editorial page writer in Europe. Mr. Stephens is a graduate of the University of Chicago and has a degree in comparative politics from the London School of Economics.

About Mr. Carney

Mr. Carney has served as a member of the editorial board since 2005, based in New York, and has written extensively on financial markets and business. He joined the Journal in 2000 as an editorial writer in Brussels before becoming editorial page editor of The Wall Street Journal Europe. Mr. Carney was awarded this year's Gerald Loeb Award for Commentary for editorials on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He is also the recipient of the Frederic Bastiat Award for Journalism, which he won in 2003 for his essays on European tax havens, the failure of French industrial policy and for arguing to the Journal Europe's readers that the U.S. response to corporate scandals showed America's economic vitality. He holds a bachelor's degree from Yale and a master's from Boston University.

About The Wall Street Journal

Founded in 1889, The Wall Street Journal, the flagship publication of Dow Jones & Company is the world's leading business publication and holds 33 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism. The Wall Street Journal has a print and online circulation of more than 2 million, reaching the nation's top business and political leaders, as well as investors across the country. The Wall Street Journal boasts the largest individually paid circulation out of the top 25 U.S. newspapers. Other publications that are part of The Wall Street Journal franchise, with a global audience of 3.8 million, include The Wall Street Journal Asia and The Wall Street Journal Europe. The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com is the leading provider of business and financial news and analysis on the Web with more than one million subscribers and 26 million users per month. WSJ.com is the flagship site of The Wall Street Journal Digital Network, which also includes MarketWatch.com, Barrons.com, AllThingsD.com and FINS.com. In 2009, the Journal was ranked No. 1 in BtoB's Media Power 50 for the 10th consecutive year. The Wall Street Journal Radio Network services news and information to more than 350 radio stations in the U.S.

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