Stephen J. Adler
Director, Ethics and Journalism Initiative
Stephen J. Adler has led national and global newsrooms for more
than two decades, most recently as editor-in-chief of Reuters.
A global advocate for free speech and journalism ethics, Adler is
board chair of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
He also sits on the Ethics Committee of the Society of Professional
Journalists and the advisory board of the Clooney Foundation for
Justice.
Adler started his career as a local-government reporter at the
Tampa Times and the Tallahassee Democrat. Later, he joined The
American Lawyer and, in 1988, The Wall Street Journal. As WSJ
deputy managing editor, he co-taught the ethics course required
of all news employees. In 2005, he became editor-in-chief of
BusinessWeek.
In 2011, Adler was named editor-in-chief of Reuters and, over a
decade, transformed it into a modern newsroom that excelled in
investigative reporting, data journalism and graphics. Under his
leadership, Reuters won eight Pulitzer Prizes. In 2023, Adler won
the Gerald Loeb Lifetime Achievement Award.
Adler is a graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Law
School. He is the author of The Jury: Trial and Error in the
American Courtroom. Along with his wife, the novelist Lisa
Grunwald, he co-edited three popular historical anthologies:
Letters of the Century, Women’s Letters and The Marriage Book.
He is a frequent speaker at journalism conferences, universities,
and public forums.
How Journalists Can Make AI Work for Them
A framework for newsrooms to use AI in ways that don’t sacrifice quality or lessen oversight.
Updating an Unenforceable Ethics Code in a Skeptical Age
Why maintain a nationwide journalism code of ethics, as the Society of Professional Journalists does, when it is unenforceable and when most major news organizations have crafted excellent codes of their own? Why go to great lengths to assemble a high-powered group of editors and journalism teachers to update this unenforceable code – especially at […]
Ethics and Democracy | Ethics and Technology
A Future for Journalism: Courage is Required
Excerpt from Stephen J. Adler’s keynote address at the “Journalism and Good Governance” conference at the University of Navarra School of Communication in Madrid, Spain: September 27, 2025
Do We Really Know How Trump Decided to Bomb Iran?
Reporters and readers should be skeptical of unnamed “insiders.”
Our Mission Is To Publish – Not To Hide Our Work Away
Ethics and Journalism Initiative Director Stephen J. Adler on why “takedowns” pose serious risks to free speech and the historical record and are unlikely to offer actual protection.
Fostering a Culture of Newsroom Independence
How to fight anticipatory compliance.
Getting Past Newsroom Myopia
The results of the 2024 election left many national media commentators stunned. This surprise begs the question: what can coastal big-city news organizations do to more accurately reflect and understand the concerns of the American public?
My Student Asked: Is It Ethical to Share Common Experiences, Interests or Beliefs with a Source?
The other day, a student asked me whether, in interviewing a union official for a story, it was OK to tell the official that the student had been a union organizer a few years before entering journalism school. Would this be ethical, the student asked?
Ethics and Diversity | Everyday Ethics
Confronting Falsehoods Carries Risks for the Press. So Does Ignoring Them.
Donald Trump's and J.D. Vance's recent comments about Haitian immigrants present a familiar challenge to journalists: how to report on misinformation without amplifying it.
