06 Nov 2002 |

Advertising Recession Hits Financial Media

The publisher of The Wall Street Journal Europe, Dow Jones, has announced it is to cut a further 230 jobs by the middle of November.

In a memo to staff, Peter Kann, the company’s chief executive, cited “the harsh economic climate in which we’re operating” as well as “depressed” global markets for financial services, technology and other business-to-business providers as reasons for the job cuts and other cost-saving measures.

Financial information groups have born the brunt of the advertising recession and Dow Jones has already cut 12% of its workforce since 2001. The sharp decline in corporate and technology spending has also hit titles such as the Financial Times. According to Merrill Lynch, the heavyweight pink paper’s advertising revenues will miss targets by 15% this year.

However, circulation figures for both the Wall Street Journal Europe and the Financial Times do not paint such a bleak picture. Analysis of a 5 year circulation trend for the Wall Street Journal shows that the title’s sales are steadily increasing. ABC figures for the first half of 2002 revealed that the paper’s circulation was holding up well at 100,769.

One city analyst suggests that heavy-weight financial titles may actually benefit from the economic downturn in terms of circulation. Investment banks cost-cutting drives have reduced the number of Reuters terminals and tailored electronic information services available to analysts. As banks seek to consolidate their information services to fewer suppliers, traditional media has become more important to those who want to be in the know.

A number of heavyweight investment banks are mulling further job cuts and no doubt city workers will keep their eyes on key financial titles to see when and where the axe will fall.

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