‘Day of great joy’: Wall Street Journal’s crusade to free Gershkovich succeeds

Newspaper mounted a high-profile campaign to stress reporter's innocence and ensure he was not forgotten

The reporter Evan Gershkovich's release from a Russian prison on Thursday was celebrated across US and global media but perhaps most happily by journalists at his own paper, the Wall Street Journal in New York.

In an email to staff after news of Gershkovich's release as part of a large-scale prisoner swap, Emma Tucker, the Journal editor-in-chief, said: A few moments ago, Evan walked free from a Russian plane. He will shortly be on a flight back to the US.