BtoB Media Business - July 2008 - (Page 3)

Upfront JULY 2008 Upfront AABP hands out editorial excellence awards . . . Page 4 International push, tighter control drive ‘WSJ’ shakeup BY CHRISTOPHER HOSFORD Cover Story Greening events can help grow revenue . . . . . . . . Page 6 Feature In a word, budgeting for ’09 will be challenging . . . Page 10 Endnote Confident enough to charge for content . . . . . . . . . . Page 26 Departments Sales & Marketing . . . Page 14 M&A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 16 Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 17 Circulation . . . . . . . . . Page 18 Production. . . . . . . . . . Page 20 People . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 21 Benchmarks . . . . . . . . Page 22 EDITORIAL OFFICES (312) 649-5401 FAX (312) 649-5462 ADVERTISING SALES (212) 210-0782 SUBSCRIPTION HOTLINE (888) 288-5900 VP-Publisher Robert Felsenthal (212) 210-0262 Editor Associate Publisher Ellis Booker David Bernstein Managing Editor John Obrecht Design Director Martin Musker Senior Editor Tequia Burt Senior Reporters Carol Krol, Kate Maddox Copy Editor Richard K. Skews Intern Chi-an Chang Contributors Marie Griffin, Mark J. Miller, Mary Ellen Podmolik, Charlotte Woolard Senior Account Rep. Eric Gordon Account Executives Lynne Bosnack Peter Loibl Marketing Manager Amy Holtzman Web Site Director Jeff Buddle Internet Marketing Manager Megan A. Lee Production Manager Nicole Dionne Group Circulation Director John LaMarca Circulation Manager Nicole Chantharaj THE AD AGE GROUP VP-Publishing and Editorial Director David S. Klein CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. Chairman, Keith E. Crain President, Rance Crain Secretary, Merrilee Crain Treasurer, Mary Kay Crain Executive VP-Operations, William A. Morrow Senior VP-Group Publisher, Gloria Scoby Group VP-Technology, Circulation, Manufacturing, Robert C. Adams VP-Production & Manufacturing, David Kamis Chief Information Officer, Paul Dalpiaz Corporate Circulation Director, Patrick Sheposh Founder, G.D. Crain Jr. (1885-1973), Chairman Emeritus, Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. (1911-1996) Media Business® is a registered trademark of Crain Communications Inc. Seven months after News Corp.’s acquisition of The Wall Street Journal, CEO Rupert Murdoch’s hand-picked top editor last month announced a shakeup of the newsroom management structure and a stronger commitment to pursuing international opportunities. Central to the changes announced June 19 by Managing Editor Robert Thomson was the creation of a team of three deputy managing editors to focus, respectively, on national, international and enterprise reporting. In a memo to the Journal’s editorial staff, Thomson referred to the three editors as a “troika,” noting they “will sit close together in what could prosaically be called a ‘news hub,’ thus streamlining commissioning and editing decisions.” The team consists of the Journal’s general news editor, Matt Murray, who took over national editor duties; Nik Deogun, previously the “Money & Investing” section editor, who is now international editor in charge of global bureaus and correspondents; and Mike Williams, who added oversight of investigative reporting to his duties as page 1 editor. The revamp, Thomson said, establishes “a central news desk that will allow significantly enhanced cooperation between print, Web and newswire journalists in New York and around the world.” Reed Phillips, managing partner of media investment firm DeSilva & Phillips, said of the reorganization: “I would have expected this. This was a prized acquisition by Murdoch. He’s got his team in there, and he’s going to make sure things work out the way he wants them to.” In addition to Deogun’s appointment as international editor, Deputy Managing Editor Dan Hertzberg was given responsibility for the Journal’s European and Asian editions, and “will have the task of building our editorial presence and profile in Europe and, in particular, in the U.K.,” Thomson said in his memo. Separately, Thomson announced in a speech last month at the South Asian Journalists Association’s annual convention in New York that the Journal planned to run four pages of international news a day. “There’s a great opportunity internationally, absolutely,” Phillips said. “As part of News Corp., the Journal now sees itself as a global player. They’re not just competing with The New York Times but also the Financial Times in Europe.” Thomson, former editor of News Corp.’s Times of London, was named publisher of the Journal in December. He succeeded Marcus Brauchli as managing editor, the highest editorial title at the Journal, in May. (Thomson declined to be interviewed for this article.) A separate transaction in early June reinforces the Journal’s commitment to multimedia and international content distribution. Dow Jones became the second U.S. publisher (after the Seattle Times in February) to announce it would use editorial and publishing software from EidosMedia, of Milan, Italy, whose Méthode application automatically reformats and channels stories to different media outlets, such as a printed newspaper, a text message or the Web. “That’s a key to their future and plays exactly to the newsroom reorganization they’re in the midst of,” said Ken Doctor, a news industry analyst with OutSell Inc. “This will allow them to move content more quickly to real-time distribution onto the Web, cable and other outlets, eliminating the labor in the hand-off between print editors and Web staff.” While the Journal’s “Opinion” pages typically champion politically conservative viewpoints, Thomson emphasized news operation independence in announcing that Deputy Managing Editor Alix Freedman will have “expanded authority as a defender of the paper’s ethical and journalistic standards.” Freedman is a past winner of Pulitzer, Loeb and Polk journalism awards. There have been several recent key editorial departures at the Journal in addition to Brauchli. These include former deputy managing editor Bill Grueskin, who resigned in early June to become a dean at Columbia University’s journalism school. Grueskin had overseen the Journal’s bureau chiefs. mediabusinessonline.com | July 2008 | Media Business | 3 http://mediabusinessonline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BtoB Media Business - July 2008

BtoB Media Business - July 2008
Contents
AABP Hands Out Editorial Excellence Awards
Greening Events Can Help Grow Revenue
In a Word, Budgeting for '09 Will be Challenging
Sales and Marketing
M and A
Online
Circulation
Production
People
Benchmarks
Confident Enough to Charge for Content

BtoB Media Business - July 2008