WSJ sees 24 percent rise in print ad revenue in August

The Wall Street Journal saw a 24-percent increase in print ad revenue in August when compared to August of 2010, an increase that occurred “while other national newspapers have reported distressing declines in advertising,” managing editor Robert Thomson wrote in a memo to staff this morning.

Joe Pompeo of Capital New York writes, “The reason for Thomson’s note was the debut today of a some design tweaks that have added more color throughout the paper, a change that Adweek‘s Lucia Moses first reported on two weeks ago.

“‘The newspaper has a new livery, complete with color-coded sections and stock and index tables with suddenly vivid personalities,’ Thomson wrote.

“The modest makeover was shepherded by the Journal‘s creative director, Tomaso Capuano, who likewise oversaw the launch of the ‘Greater New York’ section in early 2010. Capuano came to the paper after Rupert Murdoch’s takeover of Dow Jones, Inc., in 2008, to work on the magazine WSJ. At the outset, the paper was redesigned for Murdoch by the famous Mario Garcia, whose design was more drastic and controversial when it debuted in 2006.”

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