‘The Dropout’: The Real Life Editor Behind Judith Baker at the Wall Street Journal Described Himself as a ‘Right-Wing Curmudgeon’

While watching Hulu’s The Dropout, viewers want to know more about the real-life editor behind Judith Baker (LisaGay Hamilton) from the Wall Street Journal. In the true crime drama, she is John Carreyrou’s editor and sits in on the meeting with the Theranos legal team. She also gives him the OK to publish the story revealing that Elizabeth Holmes’ (Amanda Seyfried) biotech company does not run most blood tests on their proprietary devices. However, in real life, Carreyrou’s editor was a man who described himself as a “right-wing curmudgeon.”

‘The Dropout’ Episode 7 recap: Judith Baker defends John Carreyrou at the Wall Street Journal

In The Dropout Episode 7, John Carreyrou tries to persuade his editor-in-chief, Judith Baker, at the Wall Street Journal to run his story about Theranos. However, she tells him that his story is not ready and needs more proof. The editor segues into a story about Sicily and la mattanza, describing how fishers patiently wait all day until the fish forget the men are even there. 

“We wait until we know we’ve got them,” Judith says in The Dropout.

Later, David Boies (Kurtwood Smith) brings an entire legal team to the Wall Street Journal in an attempt to kill the story. The lawyer insists that Carryrou engages in “Yellow Journalism,” which sensationalizes the news to attract readers. However, during the meeting, Boies admits that Theranos does not run all of its tests on its proprietary devices. After the meeting, Judith tells Carreyrou he can run the story. Meanwhile, Holmes hears that the story will run and yells at her boyfriend, Sunny Balwani (Naveen Andrews), that he should have protected her.

Judith Baker at the WSJ in ‘The Dropout’ is modeled after real-life Gerard Baker 

Gerard Baker was the real editor-in-chief at the Wall Street Journal, who Judith Baker was modeled after in The Dropout. When Politico announced that the WSJ appointed him as deputy-editor-in-chief in 2008, they reflected on his political views.  

“It would be one thing for Baker to move to the conservative editorial page, but the self-described ‘right-wing curmudgeon’ will have a role overseeing news coverage, a move that surprised some staffers because of his strong right-wing political views,” the outlet wrote.

Although Judith’s political views do not come out in The Dropout, it’s evident that Hulu changed a few things about the man for the series. Many of the characters in the series portray real life people from Elizabeth Holmes’ life who spoke about Theranos in the ABC News podcast, The Dropout. Although the journalist interviewed the real-life Carreyrou in the podcast, she did not speak to Gerard Baker.

Is ‘The Dropout’ accurate? 

Although Hulu took some creative liberties with Judith Baker in The Dropout, the story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos is accurate. The Dropout is based on the real-life investigative podcast, The Dropout by Rebecca Jarvis and ABC Audio. The podcast, which premiered in 2019, follows the true story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. She promised that her machine could return blood results with only a finger prick instead of a vial of blood. However, the Edison device returned inaccurate results, and Holmes continued to market it. The journalist interviews former Theranos employees, investors, and patients throughout the podcast. It also includes pieces of deposition tapes, similar to the show.

The first seven episodes of The Dropout are currently streaming on Hulu. The Dropout finale hits the streaming service on April 14, 2022.