Categories: OLD Media Moves

WSJ’s New York section boosts ads, but circulation drops

Nat Ives of Advertising Age writes about the one-year anniversary of The Wall Street Journal‘s New York section, noting that it has boosted the paper’s advertising, but not its circulation.

Ives writes, “Despite a local ad campaign calling Greater New York ‘Ahead of The Times,’ new print distribution including a presence in 450 area Starbucks stores, and other efforts, The Journal’s print circulation around New York has fallen since Greater New York arrived. Its paid print circulation in the New York area was 224,165 on March 17, 2010, not long before Greater New York was introduced, according to a filing with the Audit Bureau of Circulations. But its paid print circulation in the area was 216,421 on March 23, 2011, nearly a year after Greater New York became a reality. That’s a 3.5% decline.

“Then again, the Journal has generally been declining in print even as its electronic subscribers grow, so it’s conceivable that Greater New York’s metro coverage has helped win subscribers to the Journal’s digital products even if it hasn’t lifted print or even held it steady. The Journal declined to say how many of its recently added electronic subscribers come from the New York area.

“‘We’re pleased with the response we’ve been getting from readers,’ Mr. Rooney said. ‘Eighty-two percent say Greater New York makes the Journal more valuable. Seventy-one percent say Greater New York makes the Journal more relevant.'”

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Jeremy Phillips says:
June 14, 2011 at 1:03 pm
"it's conceivable that Greater New York's metro coverage has helped win subscribers to the Journal’s digital products even if it hasn't lifted print or even held it steady. "
I used Google Trends to look at Google users searching for "Wall Street Journal" both from New York state & nationwide. I wouldn't consider it statistically accurate, but directionally it appears that the same number or less people are searching for the WSJ in New York state, which would not imply increased electronic subscribers in NY.
It's not possible within Google Trends to drill further than the state level, so that will have to do as our data point.
See the graph here: http://i.imgur.com/e1kve.jpg
Jeremy Phillips
http://www.linkedin.com/in/thejeremyphillips