WSJ succeeding in times of crisis - but are employees satisfied with the direction it's taking?

Posted by Helena Deards on April 6, 2009 at 4:50 PM

Speaking to the Australian, Wall Street Journal Editor Robert Thomson has explained that the demise of America's newspapers "creates a tremendous opportunity for us to gain readers". Thomson believes that one of the reasons for the increase in the WSJ's core circulation is the "diminishing" state of US newspapers. Thomson feels that the situation leads to the WSJ gaining "readers who are increasingly internationally aware and also aware of their need to be well informed about the world."

Thomson also described how changes within the News Corp owned WSJ are having a positive effect on the publication. He cites News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch's emphasis on "leveraging (content) across platforms to generate revenue". The WSJ recently launched new Asian, Indian and European sites, each focusing on the Journal news most relevant to its respective country.

Since News Corporation bought the Wall Street Journal in August 2007, Thomson says that the website has doubled in size and can now claim 23 million unique visitors per month. As for the print product, Thomson says they have successfully increased both price and core circulation. He explains that the WSJ now has a broader focus, incorporating more international coverage, but that concerns this would effect the business-centric direction of the publication were unfounded. "It's at the heart of what we do. But at the same time there's a growing constituency of readers that are somewhat interested in business but very interested in the world."

In the interview, Thomson refers to the new emphasis he has placed on filing scoops and breaking news to the WSJ and Dow Jones Newswire websites. He claims that the WSJ breaks more stories than any other newspaper in the world, and that "not to take full advantage of that at a time when advertising conditions are not auspicious would be seriously remiss". Thomson rebuffed claims that WSJ journalists were somewhat disenchanted with their news owners and working methods, saying that "the combination of the new and the old has made a great paper greater".

However in a leaked memo, former WSJ journalist Josh Prager outlines a more "urgent" news environment and ever shorter stories as his main reasons for leaving. "The worship of byline and word counts and all that is "urgent" has doubtless stifled the boundless creativity of the Journal staff", he writes. Prager was well known for longer investigative pieces, and cited the last straw for his career at the publication was when his "recent story on Raoul Wallenberg was cut from the three parts we'd agreed upon to two to one".

There have been increasing signs of change at the Wall Street Journal of late, including the addition of sports coverage, the appointment of a European finance director and a greater emphasis on breaking news. The changes would indicate a more mainstream news role for the Wall Street Journal, and more direct competition with newswires such as the Associated Press and Bloomberg for Dow Jones. Whilst Thomson is naturally very much in favour of the direction the publication is taking, and keen to point out its recent successes, the memo from Prager is a sign that there could still be underlying problems with the transition, and warrants speculation that there could be problems in the future.

Source: The Australian, Poynter