Welcome Martin Peers and Stephen Nellis!

I am delighted to announce that Martin Peers, a longtime Wall Street Journal media reporter and editor, is joining The Information as a columnist.

Since 2011, Martin has been running the paper’s coverage of the media and entertainment industries as its Media and Marketing bureau chief. He was previously Deputy Editor of Heard on the Street, the paper's financial analysis section.

In that role, Martin was a prolific writer of columns about the convergence of technology and media; he predicted that Android would end up dominating the global smartphone market, analyzed the implications of cord-cutting on the cable television industry and warned Amazon and HBO they were at risk of losing to Netflix.

Martin joined the Journal in 1999 and covered—and often broke—a string of huge media stories for the paper, including AOL's takeover of Time Warner, Viacom's merger with CBS and cable magnate John Malone's battle with Rupert Murdoch.

Before joining the Journal, he covered the business side of the entertainment industry for Daily Variety and Variety in New York.  

On a personal note, I met Martin when I worked for him as a tech and media reporter. He was the toughest editor I'd had and taught me an incredible number of things, from how to break news to how to convince John Malone to talk to me. Since then I have read every single thing he's written, and I can't wait for Information subscribers to regularly read his fresh, rigorous analysis when he joins in two weeks. He will be based in New York.

I am also thrilled that Stephen Nellis, senior editor at the Santa Barbara-based Pacific Coast Business Times, will be joining our team as a reporter in early October.

For seven years, Steve has been a star reporter and editor for the weekly business paper, covering patent brawls, semiconductors, medical devices, biotech giants like Amgen and more.