Personal Journal
The Wall Street Journal
100 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10013
212/597-5600
http://www.wsj.com
Any PR pro will tell you The Wall Street Journal encompasses some of the most coveted media real estate out there. With 1,943,601 readers with an average household income of
nearly $164,000, the pub is the book for reaching affluent, high-level execs and top decision makers.
Those execs have personal lives - and personal investments - as well, however, and The Journal is launching a brand new section designed to cater to its readers' personal
needs. Aptly dubbed The Personal Journal, it will launch on April 9, appearing on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
The new section will not only offer information on personal finance, it will also provide coverage of travel, health and family, cars and personal technology - all with that
signature Wall Street Journal style.
Content/Contacts
The five topic areas (personal finance, healthcare, travel, cars and gadgets) will be the major areas of focus, with personal finance and healthcare taking the lion's share of
the coverage. The content will also be news-driven and will build on the coverage of these topics already existing within The Wall Street Journal.
The editorial staff is still in the makings - editors for some beats have yet to be hired, says Deputy Editor Eben Shapiro. Even when the staff is fully assembled, however,
reporters from the paper will also contribute to the new section, so Shapiro recommends sending press materials via snail mail to the appropriate topic editor (for example, Attn.
to Healthcare Editor, Personal Journal, etc.). He assures wary PR pros that the mail will be properly routed and that "people here tend to read their mail."
Pitch Tips
Shapiro does not want to receive a deluge of new product announcements. Think carefully about whether your pitch is tailored to The Wall Street Journal's audience before
passing it along to the editors of the Personal Journal.
He also urges communicators to read the new section a few times and become familiar with the feel of the new section before pitching. "It will become pretty clear" what type of
material editors are seeking, he says. He advises PR pros to rely on existing relationships with Journal reporters to get an "in" with the Personal Journal. "Existing Journal
reporters are covering stories for the Personal Journal, and relationships exist with PR people."
Shapiro advises communicators to place phonecalls in the mornings when everyone is fresh and to be brief in their communications. "Be respectful of people's time."
Comments
"We're going to cover things that will have an impact on our reader's lives," Shapiro says, underscoring that anything he and his staff cover will be "actionable
information."
Although he has utmost respect for communications professionals he warns that the Personal Journal will be as aggressive and skeptical as other sections of The Wall Street
Journal.
"The PR process is legitimate and helpful," Shapiro says, but there are certain tricks which are sure to spark his ire. One particular foible that will most certainly damage
credibility in Shapiro's eyes: "Don't call and ask, 'Why is this not of interest to you?' It's not my job to explain that," he says.
In The Pipeline
Shapiro will not comment on stories in the works for the first issues of the Personal Journal. He reminds PR professionals that the section will be news-driven.
He does offer a few specific clues, however: "Everyone who works here is hugely interested in the new generation of wireless phone/palm/email devices. A story we might do is,
is this a good time to buy one? Do they do what they're supposed to do? Should you wait six months?"
Shapiro is "always eager to meet smart people at smart companies." But he won't be doing stories on smart people or smart companies - instead he wants to hear what they have to
say on the issues of the day.