James V. Grimaldi, multiple 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, who also led investigations at The Washington Post, is expected to begin on September 16, 2024. 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 staying true to NCR’s forward-thinking vision and reputation for excellent journalism.
Grimaldi was a leading figure in the Journal’s investigative desk in Washington, D.C., and provided responsible reporting for the Journal – and previously for the Post – that broke major stories about money, politics, influence peddling, corruption and lawbreaking by federal judges and government officials.
“NCR’s great tradition of accountability and investigative journalism has exposed grave injustices that have compelled the Church to confront and respond to its abuse scandal,” Grimaldi said, referring to NCR’s years of groundbreaking reporting on clergy abuse that began in 1985. “This fearless journalism is urgently needed 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.”
Now celebrating its 60th anniversary, NCR is the leading independent Catholic newspaper in the United States, with about one million online readers each month. NCR received more than three dozen awards from the Catholic Media Association this year, including the top three awards for investigative reporting. The newspaper’s work has been featured in outlets such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, NPR and NBC News.
“James is committed to carrying on the mission and spirit of NCR. He will elevate and expand NCR’s outstanding journalism to new levels at a pivotal moment in the history of the Catholic Church. All of us here – including our readers – look forward to his exceptional editorial leadership during this exciting and pivotal time,” Ferullo said.
Grimaldi is a native of Kansas City, Missouri, and a graduate of the University of Missouri Journalism School and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. His relationship with NCR began when he was a student at the Jesuit-run Rockhurst High School in Kansas City. Teachers there gave him a copy of the newspaper and encouraged him to read it.
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.
An educator and mentor, he was the Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University and the Knight-Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University. He has held leadership positions at Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Fund for Investigative Journalism, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
He will oversee and direct NCR’s editorial team from Washington, DC.
Grimaldi is married with two grown sons, two dogs and three cats, and is active in his parish, St. Peter’s Church on Capitol Hill. He recently returned from a parish-led mission to Haiti, where the group helped repair and re-supply the Notre Dame d’Altagrace church and school.
