WSJ sales force headed for shake up

Matthew Flamm of Crain’s New York Business reports that The Wall Street Journal is about to reorganize its sales team in a bid to boost its revenue.

The move, he writes, is not due to the pending acquisition of its parent company Dow Jones & Co. by News Corp.

Flamm wrote, “Four months after former ESPN sales chief Michael Rooney became Dow Jones & Co.’s first chief revenue officer, responsible for both print and online sales, sales executives at the Journal are awaiting word of a major reorganization. One source at the paper said the moves could come within the next few days.

“Mr. Rooney has already begun changing the sales department structure at the Journal, hiring fellow ESPN veteran Don Reis in July to head up print and online sales on the west coast.

“Mr. Rooney, in announcing Mr. Reis’s appointment, called it ‘our next step in creating a totally integrated print and online sales force.'”

“Insiders say the hiring of a west coast head of sales is a sign that the company is moving back to a regional ad sales structure. In recent years, the Journal’s sales departments have been organized around categories, such as business to business, business to consumer, or finance.”

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