Slate: <em>WSJ</em>'s 'Greater New York' Is Not About Journalism

Observers of the ongoing metro war between The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal's new "Greater New York" section have long heeded the all-important advertising angle to the story. The Journal and Post have cut ad rates to hurt the Times (maybe even putting a dent in Times Co. stock), and in its debut, "Greater New York" boasted far more ad pages than the Times' local coverage did. Even so, critics who harsh the nascent section's sometimes ridiculous editorial choices are missing the point, says Slate's James Ledbetter. For Journal owner Rupert Murdoch, cutting in to the Times' ad revenue is "Greater New York"'s only purpose: Although Greater New York editor John Seeley told me his goal is to bring new readers into the Journal, the truth is that for the foreseeable future, no one will be buying the Wall Street Journal with the primary goal of reading this material. It doesn't need to sell itself on the newsstand. The goal here is to be a plausible second read, to capture the attention of the commuting executive, coming in from Jersey or Westchester, who's already reading the Journal for its business news. [...] If it works, Greater New York will challenge the New York Times not with first-rate journalism but as an advertising vehicle. Look at the companies and organizations that have taken out ads since Greater New York launched: Bloomingdale's, Sherry-Lehman Wine & Spirits, Van Cleef & Arpels, some Broadway shows (Jersey Boys, for instance), and museums. They are high-end local advertisers, the kind that normally would go in the Times and its magazine supplements, but to date historically have had little use for the Journal. That's a dispiriting thought for the staffers who've jumped on board the new Journal section, but in some ways the paper better hope Ledbetter is right. From a journalistic standpoint, some critics have already called "Greater New York" a JaMarcus Russell-level bust. In today's environment -- where online aggregation, page-view counts, SEO and slideshows can win over Pulitzer prizes -- it wouldn't be altogether surprising to see an outlet suborn top-tier journalism to plump itself up with ads. It would just be a little sad to know that what may be the last great print war was taking place under the bloated, ad-space-grubbing paradigm of the online business model.

Fishbowl

Slate: WSJ's 'Greater New York' Is Not About Journalism

Mike Taylor

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Mike Taylor