OLD Media Moves

Reaction to WSJ redesign is mixed

January 2, 2007

Comments about the redesigned Wall Street Journal are beginning to permeate the Internet, and the reaction is mixed.

Jonathan Berr, writing on BloggingStocks.com, said that the redesign was about three yeaars too late. He said, “The design itself will take some getting used to. The Journal is 20 percent narrower which will make it easier for commuters to handle. Dow Jones says it will be running “the same or more news articles than we do today.” I like the look overall. The paper seems easier to read and the graphics are improved. It wouldn’t surprise me if the New York Times (NYSE:NYT) made similar changes.”

WSJ publisher Gordon Crovitz, quoted in an Associated Press story, said he had already received hundreds of e-mails Tuesday about the new design, which he described as “overwhelmingly positive.”

“They say it is still the old Journal to them, and that it feels familiar,” Crovitz said. “They find it’s easier to navigate, which is what we intended.” Despite the closing of U.S. financial markets on Tuesday because of memorial services for former President Gerald Ford, Crovitz said “99 percent of our readers are at work as normal today.”

Peter Cohan, a Babson College management professor, said the first thing he noticed was that it was as wide as a Holiday Inn bath towel. He added, “I’ll keep reading the Journal but if they want to save money, I think they should scrap all the stock tables — timely information is available online — and eliminate its editorial section. Anyone needing the views expressed there can tune into Fox for free.”

Here’s a well-done NPR piece about the makeover.

My impressions? Picked up a copy today — the regular one in the mailroom, not a free one. Frankly, I liked the feel of it in my hands, and the design was extremely eye appealing. I like the changes to the teasers at the top of each section. And I didn’t notice too much that was missing. I’m not a heavy reader of stock listings by any measure, so I didn’t miss what had been cut there. The photos and graphics seemed crisper than usual.