ashthomas//blog: WSJ Online Content Policy

ashthomas//blog

Friday, February 25, 2005

WSJ Online Content Policy

Adam L. Penenberg, in his Wired column, asks the important question, "Whither The Wall Street Journal?":
The Wall Street Journal is not only the best-written, most elegantly edited newspaper to cover business, it may be the best paper period.

Because of its immense clout and vast resources -- the Journal might assign half a dozen reporters to the telecommunications beat while The New York Times and Washington Post each have one -- publicists feed it exclusives, sources leak it information and corporate chieftains plead for the privilege of having their cartoon portraits grace Page 1. All of this helps the Journal maintain its competitive edge.

Given all of this, it might be hard to believe that The Wall Street Journal is in danger of becoming irrelevant, but it is.

The reason for the WSJ's growing irrelevency is its policy regarding online content. Unlike many (most, really) of the major U.S. newspapers, the Wall Street Journal does not allow free access online to its articles. This is the main reason that, save for the exceptional story that might be quoted heavily, the blogging community does not refer to the Journal. Despite excellent stories and great writers, the Journal's decision not to allow free access means that most bloggers do not link to its site or specific stories. I myself link only to the Journal's op-ed off-shoot site, Opinion Journal, in my side bar of recommended sites. Most bloggers, especially of the left or centrist persuasion, do not even do that, given the editorial pages of the Journal's reputation for a more conservative (or neo-conservative) leaning.

When I was in the U.S. last year, I picked up a print copy of the Wall Street Journal and read it enthusiastically (except the specifically business oriented stuff -- yes, I know that the business world is the Journal's primary audience, but there was plenty of interest for the general reader as well). I would love to be able to read the Journal online, but I won't pay to do so. For now, I will stick to the sites that provide quality news for free, and satisfy myself with the smattering of pieces that the Journal throws at us through Opinion Journal.

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