The Wall Street Journal Increases Circulation, Frequency of WSJ. Magazine

The title's circ will now be 1.5 million; six issues will be printed in 2010, up from four.

By Chandra Johnson-Greene
Friday, December 18, 2009

The Wall Street Journal said that it will increase both the circulation and frequency of its glossy companion magazine WSJ. Beginning in March 2010, the circulation will be 1.5 million, up from 800,000, and will have six issues a year, up from four.

The Wall Street Journal launched WSJ. in September 2008 and it is currently distributed to Journal readers in 17 geographic markets as part of the paper’s Weekend Edition. WSJ. will continue to be included in copies of the Journal in those markets, but will now be distributed to all subscribers in the U.S. and made available in the Weekend Edition on newsstands across the country.

The magazine will maintain its circulation of 160,000 outside the U.S., where it’s distributed in copies of The Wall Street Journal Asia and The Wall Street Journal Europe. After the March edition, the magazine will come out in May, June, September, October and December.

WSJ. experienced a slow start in terms of advertising. The March ’09 issue had 27 ad pages out of 92 total pages, down from 51 ad pages out of a total of 104 in its premiere issue. There were plans to increase the title’s frequency to monthly in the beginning of 2009, but because of a lack of advertising, it remained a quarterly.

Since then, however, WSJ. has been able to attract 64 new advertisers to the Journal franchise, with 20 of those subsequently increasing their exposure with other Journal properties. "The magazine has a well established track record of moving product for our advertisers, even in the worst economic times," Michael Rooney, chief revenue officer of The Wall Street Journal, said in a statement.