Wall Street Journal says revenue from print and digital is up, bucking industry trend
By APWednesday, September 29, 2010
WSJ says revenue _ print and digital _ is up
NEW YORK — The Wall Street Journal’s revenue climbed 17 percent in its just-ended quarter according to a staff memo the newspaper’s publisher sent Wednesday, bucking the overall downward trend in the newspaper business.
Even print advertising revenue, which has been in steep decline at most newspapers for the past few years, grew more than 21 percent in the three-month period that ended Sunday, according to Journal Publisher Les Hinton. He said online advertising revenue climbed 29 percent, making for the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth in both catagories.
Meanwhile, revenue from subscription and newsstand sales climbed 13 percent, he said.
The gains come as the Journal pursues an aggressive national expansion. It has branched far beyond business and financial news with sections devoted to local and cultural coverage, positioning the newspaper as a direct rival to The New York Times. The changes have come since News Corp., under Chairman Rupert Murdoch, took over the Journal in 2007.
In the memo, Hinton touted the Journal’s newly expanded weekend edition and Greater New York, the metro section that launched earlier this year.
“All of these moves point to our desire to provide a more complete daily and weekend newspaper with business and finance at its core,” Hinton said.
He also took a jab at the Times, including recent New York Times Co. projections predicting an overall revenue decline for the quarter ending this month.
Times Co. figures are not directly comparable because the company also publishes The Boston Globe, International Herald Tribune and 15 other dailies. But the company expects revenue in the quarter will be down 2 percent to 3 percent compared with the same quarter a year ago.
News Corp. shares were down 41 cents, or 3 percent, at $13.20 in late trading.
The memo was first posted by the Poynter Online blog. A Wall Street Journal spokeswoman confirmed its authenticity.
