WSJ Europe to launch new tech section as part of digital expansion

The Wall Street Journal is to launch a new European technology section as part of its digital expansion.

Six new jobs have been advertised by publisher Dow Jones as it prepares to enlarge its online and mobile offering and build up commercial opportunities.
 
Europe.wsj.com launched in February 2009 and since then has seen good growth in terms of traffic, its editor Neil McIntosh told Journalism.co.uk today.

McIntosh, who was development editor at Guardian.co.uk before becoming launch editor of the WSJ site last year, was unable to provide regional breakdown of traffic data (WSJ.com attracts 20 million visitors each month and one million paid subscribers) but said the site had a "great first year".

The journal is well known in the states for its technology coverage and the WSJ wanted to offer more in Europe, McIntosh said. The new section is expected to cover technology business activity in Europe, startups and entrepreneurs, and gadget and service launches.

The new section will incorporate US content, as well as its own regional output: "There's a lot of stuff coming out of there [the US] which is extremely relevant; today's a very good example: we've got Walt Mossberg reviewing the iPhone 4. It's as relevant to readers in Berlin as it is in New York."

The specific shape and structure of the section is to be decided: "We're looking for an editor who can steer us," said McIntosh. It's important that the new editor will have the opportunity to craft the section for themselves, he added.

The new section will be a mix of news and commentary, as seen in existing sections that include "straightforward top quality reporting" supported by analysis on Heard on the Street and other blogs.

While it will draw in external content from blogs, the section will not try to chase every technology angle and will avoid "baseless speculation", said McIntosh. "We want people to feel they can absolutely trust what appears on the site." The section will have to tread "a very careful line" when balancing its output, he said.

As with existing content, some will be in front of the pay wall and some behind. "We'll be continuing with that mixed approach," McIntosh confirmed.

As well as recruiting an editor for the new technology section, Dow Jones is seeking a news editor and assistant news editor who will work cross-platform; as well as a new business development manager.

"We're expanding fast and the commercial operation is growing similarly. We're launching a lot of products," said McIntosh, adding that new mobile products and web development are part of the expansion. "That's what a lot of these roles are about - and then monetising that growth as well."

WSJ Europe currently offers an iPhone app and a mobile web edition, with an iPad app on the way: "We haven't announced when we're due to roll out an iPad edition for Europe, but it's coming up."

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