THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

A national financially oriented daily newspaper, ‘the Wall Street Journal’, was the only U.S. national
daily newspaper for many years. It was established on July 8, 1889, by Edward Jones, Charles
Bergstresser and Charles Dow. The Wall Street Journal had implemented changes to keep up with its
business environment. Initially the Journal published only business and financial information but in
1980, another section was added which contained articles on personal finance, general interest stories
and arts & entertainment coverage.

The Wall Street Journal faced competition from USA Today, New York Times -National Edition and
Financial Times. But as per Simmons Market Research Bureau Study, people had started to read USA
Today because they gave ads within the paper claiming that “USA Today’s readership is the
industry’s largest.” Therefore, they gained more subscribers than The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal had to expand in 1980, to keep up with its competitors which required more coverage,
more editorial staff which meant higher operating costs. In 1987, the revenue of the journal grown by
4% while their profits had dropped by 13.6%. The stock market crash in 1987 had affected the Wall
Street Journal because of which advertising linage was dropped by 15% in two months and 2.3% for
the year.

From the surveys conducted it was known that 90% who read the journal are college graduates, 13%
are women, the median age is 47 and readers have a strong interest in personal financial information
and mutual fund information. These surveys and other market research had helped them identify some
areas where any action could be taken in the coming years.

QUESTION
1. Using the information provided in the case, complete a situation analysis of the Journal.
What constitutes a situation analysis ? “an astute marketer is always in a situational
analysis mode” – do you agree ? Why ?
2. Describe what you think is the ideal target market for Journal. Why? Be specific and
clear.