By: Jennifer Saba During the Dow Jones Q3 earnings call Thursday morning, one analyst questioned executives on the decision to trim the size of The Wall Street Journal.
The analyst said that "a straw poll" around the office concluded that the move could dilute the quality of the product since it would no longer stand out in a crowded marketplace. He also asked if executives conducted focus groups about the change.
"What distinguishes the Journal is less the page size but a focus on our content," responded Peter Kann, chairman and CEO of Dow Jones.
Like the Weekend Journal, executives said they held focus groups and found that readers -- and potential readers -- found the new size more convenient.
The company announced in mid-October it was trimming the width of the Wall Street Journal by about 20%.
For the most part, analysts and investors raised questions about consumer advertising and the impact of the Weekend Edition. Executives said they had reached their Q3 revenue goal at the Weekend Edition and that they are on course for Q4. Fifty percent of the Weekend Edition's advertising was incremental and 50% of it was consumer related.
However, Richard Zannino, executive vice president and COO, admitted the company is "continuing to battle a difficult print advertising environment."
Print Publishing revenue for Q3 declined 2.5% to $204.4 million compared to the same period last year on a 2.8% decline in advertising revenue. Advertising lineage at the Journal, including two Weekend Edition issues, increased 3.6% (up 8.8% in September). Excluding the Weekend Edition, Monday thru Friday linage at the Journal increased 0.6%. (The Saturday edition has cannibalized some advertising from the Monday thru Friday papers, executives said.)
At the Journal for Q3 (including Weekend Edition) general linage dropped 6.3%. Technology lineage was up 3.5%. Financial lineage was up slightly, 0.5%. Classified lineage was up 21.2%.
In Q4, executives forecast that the financial category will slide back, that technology and classified categories will be pretty strong, and that the general category will decline. They estimate that lineage will increase in the mid single digits.
For the upcoming September FAS-FAX report, print circulation will be up slightly, due to increases in the electronic edition.
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