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The online version of The Wall Street Journal has drawn some 626,000 subscribers to date. A continuously updated business and financial news site, WSJ.com recently underwent a
major redesign and now boasts new personalization features, easier navigation and additional search capabilities. The site's demographic resembles that of the print version, but
tends to skew a bit younger: It's still middle-aged, upper middle class business types, but the typical dotcom readers are a bit earlier in their careers than are the print
readers. That being said, there also is some overlap. About one-third of the print subscribers also subscribe to the Web site.
Don't look to the Web site, however, as an easy placement for that story that doesn't make the print edition. As Neil Budde, chief product officer and publisher of WSJ.com
warns, the site is next to impossible to pitch. His message to the PR community: cease and desist and turn your attention to the print pub.
Content/Contacts
In terms of content for the Web site, "first and foremost we rely on the print content of The Wall Street Journal," says Budde. "We also get material from the Dow Jones
newswires. Our staff is involved in making it accessible on the Web."
That being the case, Budde advises PR pros to make print reporters their first stop in pitching. Budde urges the PR community to look to the site foremost as a research tool.
All stories on the site are bylined, which makes it all that much easier to figure out whom to pitch on the print side of the house with similar material.
Pitch Tips
First stop: Pitch the print Journal. That's your surest route to the online version. But when you do, be sure to point out the multimedia option, if there is one. "We have
really good relationships with a lot of the print editors and print reporters, and I try to encourage them to look at logical things that could extend the story online," said
Budde. "Video for example is something you could not use in the print format, but you could use it online. I always encourage people to bring things like that to the attention of
reporter, so that they in turn can share that with us."
Comments
Budde also encourages PR folks to make the most of a perennial exposure opportunity available on the site. That is, the Web site's "briefing books." These offer volumes of
online information on a host of publicly-held firms. "There is a ton of that data - 20,000 company briefing books times many pages of data - so we certainly appreciate it when
anybody brings to our attention any errors in that information," said Budde.
And for those who were hoping to see their story as unique content on WSJ.com, Budde offers this scant consolation: You are not alone. "I think there was a time when everybody
thought everything on the Internet would have a dramatically different approach, but we have tried to make this an extension of the print Journal."
In The Pipeline
Don't despair yet, however. The leadership at WSJ.com has been working in recent months to develop a flow of original online-only content, produced by writers and columnists on
the print side. Looking ahead, Budde says he hopes to see that effort go further. His best advice for the time is for PR professionals to deepen their relationships with the
editorial staff on the print side of the house. Currently, when WSJ.com does generate original content, it tends to be stories with a tech edge. Stories about online investing or
online media, for instance, will get greater play on the site than in the pub. But any topic could be fair game in future Web-only content, as long as it has an appropriate
business or substantial trend angle.