WSJ's Grimaldi joins National Catholic Reporter

James V. Grimaldimultiple Pulitzer Prize winner and investigative reporter for the Wall Street Journal, has been named the new editor-in-chief of the National Catholic Reporter.

Grimaldi is scheduled to start on September 16. He will report to Joe Ferullo, CEO and publisher.

Grimaldi will oversee all aspects of NCR's editorial content, including breaking news, business reporting and investigative reporting, while remaining true to NCR's forward-looking vision and reputation for journalism excellence.

Grimaldi was a leading force in the Journal's investigative department in Washington, providing responsible reporting for the Journal – and previously for The Washington Post – exposing critical stories about money, politics, influence peddling, corruption and lawbreaking by federal judges and government officials.

He is the fifth journalist from the Pulitzer Prize team to leave the journal since its launch and the winner of the Capital Assets Prize in 2023.

“NCR's great tradition of accountability and investigative journalism exposed serious wrongdoings that led the church to confront and respond to the abuse scandal,” Grimaldi said in a statement. “This fearless journalism is critical as the United States remains divided on cultural issues, the American church reflects those divisions, and the global church stands at a crossroads toward the end of Francis' papacy.”

The publication has about a million online readers a month and employs 40 people. It has established itself as an important source of independent and investigative reporting on the Catholic Church. In 1985, NCR was the first newspaper to report on the clergy abuse scandal. In recent years, the news magazine has investigated, among other things, mismanagement in the diocese and links between conservative donors and several US churches and church-affiliated groups.

Grimaldi has worked on three projects that won the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. His team at the Journal won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for exposing conflicts of interest among high-ranking federal officials. At the Washington Post, Grimaldi and two colleagues won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for exposing the Jack Abramoff bribery scandal. He also contributed to a Pulitzer Prize awarded by the Orange County Register in California in 1996.

At NCR, Grimaldi fills a vacant position and will oversee and lead NCR's editorial team from Washington.