WSJ to introduce weekly real estate section

The Wall Street Journal will introduce a weekly real-estate section targeting high-end buyers, one of several investments that the newspaper is considering, reports William Launder of the paper’s staff.

Launder writes, “The 16-page residential real-estate section, to be introduced in late September or early October, will appear in the newspaper’s Friday editions nationally and online. The paper plans to hire up to 10 staff members for the section.

“‘It will be mostly U.S.-focused, but it will have a more global feeling than a local paper’s perspective,’ said Robert Thomson, managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, in an interview.

“The real-estate section is being introduced ahead of a planned News Corp. spinoff that has increased scrutiny on the publishing unit’s financial performance. Last month, News Corp. approved plans to split the media conglomerate into two businesses, separating the bigger and more profitable entertainment businesses from publishing assets like Dow Jones and Harper Collins.

“Mr. Thomson said plans for the real-estate section were in place before News Corp. decided to move forward with its split-up last month.”

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