WSJ Takes Aim at NYT

Monday, 26 April 2010 | by Pat's Picks

The Wall Street Journal’s direct shot at the New York Times made its debut today. The “Greater New York” section added 16 pages to the paper today. Stories cover the spectrum from crime news to politics to sports.  And there’s a heavy dose of real estate coverage. Reuters estimates the daily circulation at 235,000.

The front page of today’s section includes a piece about all the rats displaced by Upper East Side subway construction. And there’s a practical explanation of why you sometimes get that “swipe again” message when you use your Metrocard.

According to Reuters, News Corp offered advertisers “fire sale” prices on ads for the New York edition, even throwing in a free ad in the New York Post for good measure. At least on day one, the Journal was successful in attracting ads from longtime advertisers in the Times, such as Saks and Macy’s. Rupert Murdoch’s reportedly pledged $30 million over the next two years to support the Journal’s city coverage.