I'm a WSJ reader for some 30 years who probably will stop reading it because of all the tinkering. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Bring back larger pages, eight columns on a page, wider columns, larger type. I don't want more interpretation--I will read the Economist for that. If anything, I want more news, more exclusives, and fewer second-day stories.
I like the contrast on the front page of the two-column news summary with the three longer stories that jump to the inside; if I don't have the time to read the longer stories in one sitting, I will find the time to do so later at work or at home. Drop the photos; use more artist sketches. Forget horizontal, two-column layout; I like vertical layout that disciplines a story to one column in width. Drop the Saturday edition and Personal Journal.
In addition, bring back the daily stock market and mutual fund results. Forget Culture with a capital C; since when does Wall Street have Culture? Reduce the opinion pages; I have my own opinions, and I don't need to have the Journal torturing facts in pursuit of some conservative (or liberal) agenda.
Drop the expanded coverage of advertising and media and of real estate unless its absolutely necessary to get more ads. Forget sports and entertainment unless they are covered as a business.
And don't expect me to read online news on a computer: I want to spread the newspaper out on a table or desk and be able to take the whole thing in at a page at a glance. I'm also quite capable of folding a newspaper in half lengthwise to read it on a crowded subway.
I certainly don't want to read news looking at a vertical computer monitor any more than I want to read it on a vertical TV screen or on a wall. I also don't want to spend all day watching a screen; I want my news once a day, served up by editors whose news judgment I've learned to trust over time.
I've probably inadvertently overlooked some of the unfortunate changes that WSJ has made in recent years; but I've identified enough to underscore why I'm increasingly likely to be dropping my subscription. My hope is that, as Murdoch/Dow Jones continues trying to remake this newspapr into a New York Times wannabe and as Forbes, Fortune and Business Week continue trying to become general interest magazines, then some smart entrepreneur will recognize that an opening exists to create a business newspaper to fill the void. If so, here's a novel idea for a name: The Wall Street Journal.
I'm a WSJ reader for some 30 years who probably will stop reading it because of all the tinkering. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Bring back larger pages, eight columns on a page, wider columns, larger type. I don't want more interpretation--I will read the Economist for that. If anything, I want more news, more exclusives, and fewer second-day stories.
I like the contrast on the front page of the two-column news summary with the three longer stories that jump to the inside; if I don't have the time to read the longer stories in one sitting, I will find the time to do so later at work or at home. Drop the photos; use more artist sketches. Forget horizontal, two-column layout; I like vertical layout that disciplines a story to one column in width. Drop the Saturday edition and Personal Journal.
In addition, bring back the daily stock market and mutual fund results. Forget Culture with a capital C; since when does Wall Street have Culture? Reduce the opinion pages; I have my own opinions, and I don't need to have the Journal torturing facts in pursuit of some conservative (or liberal) agenda.
Drop the expanded coverage of advertising and media and of real estate unless its absolutely necessary to get more ads. Forget sports and entertainment unless they are covered as a business.
And don't expect me to read online news on a computer: I want to spread the newspaper out on a table or desk and be able to take the whole thing in at a page at a glance. I'm also quite capable of folding a newspaper in half lengthwise to read it on a crowded subway.
I certainly don't want to read news looking at a vertical computer monitor any more than I want to read it on a vertical TV screen or on a wall. I also don't want to spend all day watching a screen; I want my news once a day, served up by editors whose news judgment I've learned to trust over time.
I've probably inadvertently overlooked some of the unfortunate changes that WSJ has made in recent years; but I've identified enough to underscore why I'm increasingly likely to be dropping my subscription. My hope is that, as Murdoch/Dow Jones continues trying to remake this newspapr into a New York Times wannabe and as Forbes, Fortune and Business Week continue trying to become general interest magazines, then some smart entrepreneur will recognize that an opening exists to create a business newspaper to fill the void. If so, here's a novel idea for a name: The Wall Street Journal.