The Wall Street Journal, A National Financially Oriented Daily Newspaper - and

From the desk of
Prof. Shyam Vyas, Ph.D.

Fore – MM-II – IMG - CASE # 2
CASE # 2 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The Wall Street Journal, a national financially oriented daily newspaper – and
for many years the only U.S. national daily paper – was first published in 1889.
Over the years many changes have been implemented to keep pace with the
ever-changing business environment. For most of its history, the Journal
published only business and financial information. in 1980, however, a second
section was added to the paper containing general interest stories, arts and
entertainment coverage, and articles on personal finance.
Until the late 1970s, the Journal’s circulation was largely restricted to New
York and other financial centers in the United States. Since that time, the
subscriber base has grown both nationally and, with the introduction of
international editions, internationally. The Journal’s circulation and advertising
linage grew rapidly in the late 1970s and 1980. Circulation increased from 1,
477, 077 at the end of 1976 to 2, 108, 795 in 1983. Between 1979 and 1984,
advertising linage rose by 36.8 percent.
The Journal’s environment continues to change – perhaps at a faster pace than

ever. To sustain the Journal’s status as the financial newspaper in the United
States and in the world, executives must successfully surmount many
challenges. A host of newer national newspapers, including USA Today, New
York Times-National Edition, Investor’s Daily, and Financial Times, threaten
to eat into the Journal’s market share. The publishing magnate Rupert Murdoch
has even proposed a special U.S. edition of the British-based Financial Times
to directly compete with the Journal.
A 1986 Simmons Market Research Bureau study of Media and Markets found
the readership (the number of people who read a publication during the duration
of the study period) for the Journal had declined and was less than that of USA
Today. To capitalize on this finding, USA Today ran ads within the paper citing
the study and proclaiming that “USA Today’s readership is the industry’s
largest.” And to further ride the crest of the study’s finding, the paper joined
with General Mills in a promotion featured on GM products encouraging
consumers to sign up for a free six-month subscription to the paper. While the
response was high – 450, 000 people did sign up – USA Today’s bottom line
was actually negatively affected by the promotion since the agreement between
General Mills and the paper allowed General Mills to offer the subscriptions at
prices far below the regular price. Nevertheless, USA Today and other national
newspapers are gaining subscribers at the expense of the Journal.
It appears that the increased general news coverage the Journal instituted in
1980 must continue and expand for the Journal to keep up with its competitors.
More coverage, however, requires more editorial staff, which in turn means
higher operating costs. While revenue at the Journal grew 4 percent in 1987,
profits dropped 13.6 percent. Cost cutting and cost containment appear probable
in the next several years.
The general business climate also seems to be working against the Journal. The
cost-cutting atmosphere in most U.S. businesses has reduced the ranks of
middle managers, many of whom have received subscriptions to the Journal –
paid for by the company – at work. The annual subscription fee, in excess of
$100, has become a target of cost conscious executives. Finally, the stock
market crash of October 19, 1987 took its toll on the Journal. Advertising
linage dropped 15 percent in two months and 2.3 percent for the year.
All is not doom and gloom, however. A 1986 nationwide poll by the Los
Angeles Times found the Journal to be America’s most trusted information
medium. Another annual survey by Fortune once again found the publisher of
the Journal, The Dow Jones Corporation, at the top of all American
corporations surveyed for quality of products and services.
From surveys and from the over 10, 000 Letters to the Editor the Journal
receives annually, executives learn about their market. A 1986 subscribers’
survey provided the following information:
 Four out of 10 subscribers live in the 20 largest metropolitan areas in the

U.S.
 There are Journal subscribers in nearly every community
 Thirteen percent live in California and 7 percent in New York
 Eighty percent are in business or the professions
 Forty percent hold management titles
 Forty-four percent work for small businesses
 Ninety percent are college graduates
 Thirteen percent are women
 Median age of readers is 47
 Readers have strong interest in personal financial information
 Readers have strong interest in mutual fund information
Based on this and other market research, Journal management identified several
areas for possible action in the following year, including:
1. Provide the reader with a more timely and tightly edited newspaper by
reorganizing and expanding the editing desks.
2. Group related stories and use more graphics, charts, and statistical
summaries to enhance ease of use.
3. Increase coverage of daily developments and broad trends affecting readers’
career goals, business decisions, and personal financial planning.
4. Permit inclusion of more late breaking news by retooling pagination system.
5. Expand the Journal’s 154-city private delivery network (740, 000 Journals
were delivered by this system in 1988) to increase speed and reliability of
delivery.
6. Build more printing plants in overseas locations to speed overseas delivery.
Journal management will evaluate these identified goals and will select some or
all of them to implement based on further study.
Issues for Discussion
1. Using the information provided in the case, complete a situation analysis of
the Journal. What constitutes a situation analysis ? “an astute marketer is
always in a situational analysis mode” – do you agree ? Why ?
2. Describe what you think is the ideal Journal target market. Why?
3. Identify possible objectives that might be a party of a marketing plan.
4. What elements of the marketing mix can you identify in this case?
__________________________________________________________end of Fore MM-II Case #2 WSJ Sept 2010

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From the desk of

Prof. Shyam Vyas, Ph.D.

CASE # 2 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

The Journal’s environment continues to change – perhaps at a faster pace than

 Four out of 10 subscribers live in the 20 largest metropolitan areas in the

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