Categories: OLD Media Moves

Financial Times believes WSJ changes will help it succeed in U.S.

An executive of Pearson Plc, the parent company of The Financial Times, said at a conference that the company believes that News Corp. CEO Rupert MurdochÂ´s planned changed to The Wall Street Journal will help it gain more readers in the United States, according to a Reuters story.

Gavin Haycock wrote, “Should the Journal become free and pursue a more generalist route in the United States, making it more of a competitor for the New York TimesÂ then Â´that takes the newspaper out of our space, frankly,Â´ said (finance director Robin) Freestone.

“Â´We will remain a high-end niche product focused on the business community and we will continue to charge for ft.com.Â´

“The Murdoch threat depends on how much gets spent, he added.

“Â´If obviously a lot of money is spent investing in rolling out a continental edition and a national edition of the paper that will certainly be into our market space and we would have to watch that very carefully,Â´ Freestone said.”Â¨

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Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.