Karen Elliott House

House with Vladimir Putin in 2002.

Karen Elliott House is a journalist and former executive at the Wall Street Journal and its parent company Dow Jones. She served as President of Dow Jones International and then publisher of the WSJ before her retirement in the spring of 2006.

A native of Matador, Texas, House received a bachelors in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was editor of the university's newspaper, The Daily Texan. She was also a member of Orange Jackets, an honorary organization for women at UT. In 1984 House was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in international reporting for her coverage of the Middle East while a reporter with the Wall Street Journal. The prize was awarded for a series of interviews with Jordan's King Hussein, which anticipated the problems Ronald Reagan's Middle East peace plan would face. She is also the recipient of the Overseas Press Club's Bob Considine Award for best daily newspaper interpretation of foreign affairs (1984 and 1988); the University of Southern California's Distinguished Achievement in Journalism Award (1983); Georgetown University's Edward Weintal Award for distinguished coverage of American foreign policy (1980); and the National Press Club's Edwin M. Hood Award for Excellence in Diplomatic Reporting (1982).

House joined the Journal as a reporter in 1974. She was named assistant foreign editor in 1983; foreign editor in 1984; vice-president of the Dow Jones International Group; and president of the International Group in 1995. In 2002 she was appointed publisher by the board of Dow Jones. As publisher she was the architect of the Journal's Weekend Edition, among other ambitious and often controversial projects. At the Journal, House worked under her husband, Peter R. Kann, Dow Jones CEO and chairman of the board from 1992 until 2006.

In February 2007, House wrote a series of articles for the WSJ following a month-long tour of Saudi Arabia.

House is a board member of both the Council on Foreign Relations and Boston University. She is serving as the Vice Chairman on the board of trustees for RAND Corporation.