Yesterday was the first day of the new Wall Street Journal. Mostly, the changes focused on the print edition, which got smaller, physically. While the change was initiated to save $18M a year in newsprint costs, I think the end result is attractive and useful, mostly because it’s better in the hand and on the eyes.
Amusing part: yesterday’s edition included an eight-page guide to the new paper. It’s still a newspaper. It doesn’t require a manual. I do understand, of course, that this guide was the largest part of a very extensive marketing campaign the WSJ has been doing for months to convince its readers and advertisers that this shift is in their best interests, not simply a response to the financial requirements of the new size.
One day of handling the paper, and I’m convinced. Not because of the marketing, but because it’s easier to hold and read. Simple as that.
I rarely open Money & Investing, so the continued move of stock tables to the Internet, which helped them trim the size, was of little value to me. Note: the paper started this transition 18 months ago. I do wonder if their new Markets Data Center (note: wsjmarket.com is a typo landing page already) will gain much traction against Yahoo Finance and even the Dow Jones sister site MarketWatch.com. But it hardly matters in the short term, as long as they keep their print subscribers happy and gain a few online subscribers (paid) along the way.
I’m curious to know whether advertisers are paying the same rates for the reduced real estate or not.