American University alumnus Almar Latour, M.A./School of Communication ‘96, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and CEO of Dow Jones and Company, addressed graduating students in the School of Communication and the School of Education as they prepare to enter a changing media landscape and workforce.
Latour spoke at the SOC and SOE commencement ceremony on May 10. His speech came as journalism in America faces major changes, including a reinvented press pool designated to cover the White House by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Latour’s career in journalism spans more than 35 years and started while he was a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania studying journalism and political science. It continued into his time at American as Latour earned his master’s degree and contributed to the international section of The Eagle, a former contributing section that focused on foreign reporting. Latour said that coming to D.C. was “a dream come true.”
“It was the beating heart of everything that I’d ever read about in history or what I had watched or read on the news,” Latour said in an interview with The Eagle.
Latour said that he felt especially at home at American, where he found likeminded individuals who shared his interests in international relations and journalism.
Born and raised in the Netherlands, Latour came to the United States as a part of the Campus Scholarship Program, which is under the Fulbright Commission the Netherlands. Latour felt that he “straddled two worlds” and found curiosity in trying to understand and tell stories from both the United States and Europe.
During his time at American University, Latour built up his domestic and foreign reporting portfolio through internships with The Washington Times and The Wall Street Journal, later serving in The Wall Street Journal’s D.C. and London news bureaus after graduating.
“[AU] is a place where initiative gets rewarded and where you can carve your own path and people support you and there are a lot of opportunities,” Latour said.
For Latour, having professors from publications like The Wall Street Journal helped him gain real-world experience while being able to write and publish his own work consistently — from opinion pieces to hard news stories.
According to data from 2024, within six months of graduation, 91 percent of AU students are employed, in graduate school or both. In SOC, this number rests at 86 percent, and 96 percent in SOE.
Latour acknowledged that fields such as journalism are highly competitive and constantly changing, encouraging students to find a niche that they are interested in while still remaining curious in their daily work.
“The world is seeing so much change, in every conceivable field, and so people need to understand what is happening in the world around them, whether it’s in politics, economics, and policy, and science…” Latour said. “There’s a demand for real reliable information that’s never been greater.”
Research done by the BBC and Yonder Consulting shows that the majority of Americans are worried about misinformation in the media. Latour said that, as the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, he fights misinformation by providing a more sustainable business model that keeps track of industry changes and trends, such as the use of artificial intelligence.
Latour said that in this leadership position he has asked himself, “How do you create trusted journalism, and how do you commit yourself to making sure that you’re going about in an unbiased way?”
At American University, students are encouraged to make long lasting connections with faculty, something that Latour encourages. He said it’s especially important to connect with people in different fields to learn the keys to success while exploring one’s own interests. Latour himself continues to rely on those connections as he guides the Wall Street Journal forward during uncertain times.
Latour recognized that this year’s graduates may be entering a world that is more unsure of itself than before, but he encouraged students to remember why they are pursuing their careers.
“Embrace your motivation and your passion. Be humble and let your curiosity drive you,” Latour said.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly said that Latour came to the U.S. as a Fulbright Scholar. It has been updated to accurately reflect that he came as a member of the Campus Scholarship Program, which is under the Fulbright Commission the Netherlands.
This article was edited by Abigail Hatting and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Olivia Citarella.
