WSJ posts best ad revenue month in seven years

The following memo from Dow Jones & Co. CEO Richard Zannino was distributed within the company on Monday:

“Dear friends and colleagues:

“Everyday we see more evidence of the success of our efforts. The latest is a strong month of October where we posted a 23% increase in our total revenue. This included strong growth in advertising revenue at the Journal, Barron’s and The Wall Street Journal Digital Network.

“Wall Street Journal advertising revenue in October increased 6.7%. This was the biggest ad revenue month at the Journal in dollar terms since November 2000. At WSJDN, advertising revenue jumped 30% in October.

“Those results by themselves are notable. It’s all the more remarkable when compared with our peers. For example, just Friday, the New York Times reported a decline in its print newspaper ad revenue during October. And today Gannett said ad revenue at USAToday fell 6.1% in October.

“I’ve said before and it’s even truer today that we at Dow Jones are bucking industry trends and successfully transforming our business. The work we’ve been doing has reshaped this company to compete in this dynamic digital age. And we’ve done it while still managing to produce industry-leading results.

“Dow Jones has posted seven consecutive quarters of double-digit operating income growth through the 2007 third quarter. The October ad revenue results confirm that we’re on track for an eighth as well.”