What is the name of the newspaper editor played by Bill Murray in Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch?

In Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, Bill Murray plays newspaper editor Arthur Howitzer Jr.

Howitzer is the editor of The French Dispatch, an American magazine published in the fictional French city of Ennui-sur-Blasé. He oversees the publication’s eccentric writers and insists on a distinctive editorial style while preparing the final issue after his death.

The character is inspired in part by legendary magazine editors, particularly figures associated with The New Yorker, though Howitzer is fictional. Murray’s performance frames the film’s anthology structure, connecting the separate stories about art, politics, food, and crime.

Howitzer is often confused with the magazine’s writers. Roebuck Wright, played by Jeffrey Wright, contributes the food story; J.K.L. Berensen, played by Tilda Swinton, presents the art story; and Lucinda Krementz, played by Frances McDormand, reports on student protests.