Dow Jones Combines Print and Online 'WSJ,' Cuts 20 Jobs

By: The Associated Press and E&P Staff Financial news publisher Dow Jones & Co. announced a new organization Wednesday, combining the print and online editions of The Wall Street Journal into one unit and naming new executives.

Gordon Crovitz, who had headed up the company's electronic publishing operations, will become the head of a new consumer publishing unit as well as publisher of the print and online versions of the Journal.

That unit will also include the weekly Barron's, the financial news site MarketWatch, and SmartMoney magazine, a joint venture with magazine publisher Hearst Corp.

The move will reduce management positions, the company announced today. Twenty jobs will be eliminated resulting in an estimated cost savings of roughly $8 million per year. The company will incur one-time costs of approximately $14 million to cover severance; $2.8 million was recorded in Q4 2005 and the remainder will be recorded as a special item in Q1.

"This new structure and leadership team is a major first step in transforming Dow Jones from a channel-focused publishing company to a franchise, market, and customer-focused media company," said Richard F. Zannino, chief executive officer of Dow Jones, in a statement. "It will better align Dow Jones' organizational structure, leadership team, and franchises with our strategic vision, which is to be everywhere our customers want us to be with high-quality, differentiated, indispensable and conveniently accessible news, information and insight, profitably monetizing it in all media channels, and consistently generating above-market earnings growth and total shareholder returns."

"By organizing around markets and customers and integrating print, online and other media for each of our franchises, we will enhance our journalistic excellence, increase the value we provide to customers, improve our efficiency, execution and decision-making, reduce costs and be better positioned to exploit growth opportunities in the consumer, enterprise and local media markets," Zannino concluded.

A press release from the company Wednesday morning read as follows:

*
The three new business groups will be organized as follows:

--The Consumer Media Group will include The Wall Street Journal Franchise (including domestic and international print, online, television and radio); Barron's Franchise (including print, online and conferences); MarketWatch Franchise (including online, newsletters, television and radio); and consumer-facing joint ventures (including SmartMoney and Vedomosti). It will be led by L. Gordon Crovitz, who will become executive vice president of Dow Jones, president of Dow Jones Consumer Media Group, and publisher of The Wall Street Journal Franchise. The priorities of this group will be to grow and monetize Dow Jones' consumer franchises in all channels of distribution, maximize online growth across all Dow Jones brands, significantly improve operating margins, and develop new growth vehicles in attractive adjacent markets, especially electronic.

--The Enterprise Media Group will include Dow Jones Newswires, Dow Jones Licensing Services, Dow Jones Indexes, Dow Jones Financial Information Services, Dow Jones Reprints and Permissions; and enterprise-facing joint ventures (including Factiva and Stoxx). It will be led by Clare Hart, who was previously CEO of the Company's Factiva joint venture with Reuters, and will join the Company March 1, 2006 as executive vice president of Dow Jones and president of Dow Jones Enterprise Media Group. Ms. Hart will also be chairperson of Factiva. The priorities of this group will be to grow Dow Jones' enterprise-facing franchises by monetizing them in all profitable enterprise media channels (e.g., newswires, newsletters, conferences, data bases, indexes, and licensing); adding more value to content with technology-enabled enhancements and new products; better segmenting customers, offerings and pricing; and developing new growth vehicles in attractive adjacent markets.

--The Community Media Group will include the Company's portfolio of 15 daily and 19 weekly Ottaway community newspaper properties in nine states. It will be led by John Wilcox, who will become senior vice president of Dow Jones, president of Dow Jones Community Media Group and chairman and CEO of Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The priorities of this group will be to increase profits by leveraging local brands and content strengths through expansion in Internet and other local media.