Peter Kann Named Chairman of Dow Jones

Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Wall Street Journal, announced Wednesday that Peter R. Kann has been elected chairman, effective July 1, the day Warren H. Phillips retires.

At the same time, the board elected Kenneth L. Burenga, the company’s chief operating officer, to succeed Kann as president of the financial news and information company.

Phillips announced last fall that he intended to step down as chairman in July, 1991, after turning 65.

Kann took over as chief executive from Phillips on Jan. 1. Burenga became chief operating officer, succeeding Kann.

Kann, 48, will continue as chief executive and publisher of the Journal. Burenga will continue as chief operating officer.

Kann and Burenga are being promoted as the company’s earnings are in a slump and it searches for new outlets for its financial news gathering.

The recession has been felt acutely in the financial industry, and advertising volume has fallen sharply at Dow Jones business publications, which include its flagship newspaper and the weekly Barron’s.

For the first quarter, Dow Jones’ earnings tumbled 27.8% to $18 million. Revenue fell 2.4% to $416.6 million.

Philips, who will remain on the board, has been with the company more than 43 years, including 15 as chief executive. He has been chairman since 1978.

Kann won a Pulitzer Prize in 1972 for his coverage of the 1971 India-Pakistan War. He joined the Journal as a reporter in Pittsburgh in 1964.

He became the first publisher and editor of the Asian Wall Street Journal in 1976 and assistant to the chairman three years later.

In 1989, Kann became publisher of the Wall Street Journal and president and chief operating officer of Dow Jones.

Burenga joined Dow Jones in 1966 as a budget accountant. He was named general manager of Dow Jones and the Journal in 1989.