How the WSJ has celebrated its 125th anniversary

Joseph Lichterman of Nieman Journalism Lab writes about how The Wall Street Journal has leveraged its 125th anniversary, which was Tuesday.

Lichterman writes, “The paper has also been running a blog all year long, Today in WSJ History, that’s has been updated with archival content that corresponds with dates in history and anniversaries, like the 50th anniversary of the Beatles arriving in America, and also to modern news events. For instance, when the director Harold Ramis died earlier this year, they posted two stories from the archives on the director.

“The blog will be updated through the end of the year, but the Journal plans to ensure that the interactive presentation of its archival material is active past the anniversary date, Matt Murray, the Journal’s deputy editor-in- chief, said.

“’This is something that will live well beyond the anniversary,’ Murray said. ‘We can use it in museums — we can keep adding to it. It’s just a much more engaging fun way of getting into our archives than going through microfilm and going page after page.’

“Surfacing archival content is a natural priority for any news organization with a lifespan spanning centuries. The New York Times’ leaked innovation report highlighted improved use of archives as a potential strategic advantage for the Times, and the same idea applies to most newspapers.

“The Journal is still working out the details on how exactly it will build on the interactives after the anniversary. Multimedia editor Madeline Farbman said that, for example, the matrix game (which she helped create) could be reused whenever one of the figures on it is back in the news.”

Read more here.