Sep 3, 2008 2:20 pm US/Central
Wall Street Journal Debuts WSJ. With Palin Twist
NEW YORK (AP) ―
The Wall Street Journal's new glossy lifestyle magazine for high-end consumers will debut with this Saturday's newspaper as the company looks to boost advertising opportunities amid an overall decline in the industry.
The inaugural cover features a model wearing a dress made with the newspaper. And, in a stroke of luck, one of the debut articles explores the exercise habits of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who was tapped after it was written as the Republican vice presidential candidate.
The launch of WSJ. -- the period in the title is silent -- comes as a weakening economy has accelerated a long-term decline in advertising sales by newspapers and magazines as readers and advertisers alike turn to the Internet.
Buyers of fashion, jewelry, travel and other luxury goods have been less affected by the economic downturn, and Journal executives say they never considered delaying a launch.
The launch of WSJ. comes as Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. seeks to revamp and expand the flagship property of Dow Jones & Co., which News Corp. bought in December for more than $5 billion.
Among other developments, the Journal's WSJ.com Web site will relaunch Sept. 16. In an interview, Robert Thomson, managing editor of the Journal, said the new site will sport "lots of wonderful gizmos" and a new design providing easier access to free content.
He also said the Journal will likely introduce additional magazines along with other features to boost its Saturday edition, which the company considers a way to reach readers in a more relaxed environment -- and with it, additional direct-to-consumer advertising to offset reductions in business-to-business placements.
"This is the first piece in that strategy," Thomson said of the WSJ. launch.
The magazine will initially come out quarterly, with plans for monthly publication by mid-2009.
In the United States, the magazine will come free with newsstand and delivered copies of Saturday's Weekend Edition in 17 leading markets -- about 800,000 copies in all. In Asia and Europe, where the Journal doesn't publish a Saturday edition, WSJ. will come out on Fridays.
Articles and other features from the magazine will also be free online, a departure from the Journal's existing practice of reserving many articles for paying subscribers.
The magazine will not be sold separately.
Executives say advertising sales for WSJ. have exceeded expectations, with 19 of its 51 advertisers new to the Journal franchise. Nearly half of the advertisers bought placement in all editions worldwide, and many signed long-term deals extending into 2009 and beyond.
Michael Rooney, the Journal's chief revenue officer, said growth in luxury ads has been slowing but is continuing. During a launch event Wednesday in New York, Rooney said the magazine will lure advertisers looking to showcase their products on glossy paper.
"We are only in the early stages of what we can accomplish in this category," he said.
The company expects readership to be slightly more affluent and female than the rest of the Journal's readership, giving advertisers further targeting opportunities.
With an average daily circulation of 2,069,463, the Journal has the second-largest circulation in U.S. after Gannett Co.'s USA Today, the Audit Bureau of Circulations said. According to comScore Inc., Journal's online audience nearly doubled to 4.7 million in July, compared with 2.4 million in July 2007.
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