Anna Nicolau and Alex Barker of The Financial Times examine how The Wall Street Journal’s business model is working during the current pandemic.
Nicolau and Barker write, “While parts of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp business are struggling financially, the Dow Jones division has fared relatively well with the WSJ reaching 3m subscribers for the first time in April, including 2.2m digital only. Revenue at Dow Jones grew 5 per cent in the first three months of the year, compared with sales declines of 14 per cent at News Corp Australia and 9 per cent at News UK.
“Although Mr Thompson expects ad revenues to drop more than 50 per cent in the second quarter, the newsroom will be spared from lay-offs. While there is no NYT “coronavirus bonus”, as has been awarded to journalists at financial information and news provider Bloomberg, Mr Thompson expects the number of editorial staff to grow this year.
“The NYT is advertising 44 newsroom roles on its website. The Dow Jones group, meanwhile, is seeking to fill about 20 positions, including some journalist roles.”
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