"Demand for business information is booming"
Dow Jones' Phil Revzin on the dynamics of the international business press
Dow Jones' Phil Revzin on the dynamics of the international business pressDow Jones is the publisher of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) and other business publications. The U.S. media and publishing group is also behind the Dow Jones stock market indexes, among others. Phil Revzin is former editor-in-chief of WSJ-Europe and now heads Dow Jones' Asia business. He is also publisher and editor-in-chief of FEER. Revzin presented the new concept and design of FEER in Zurich. Would you describe the past few years as boom years for the international business press?
Phil Revzin: Everyone is fascinated by business, the stock market and money. This is, of course, very attractive for providers of business information. The Wall Street Journal in America is booming in an incredible way, it's more successful than ever before. In Europe, the relaunch of the WSJ in February was very successful. Circulation is growing towards 100000 copies. The alliance with Handelsblatt is working great for both sides. But demand for business information is booming not only in print; the Internet and television are also benefiting from the public's unbridled appetite.
You've recently been giving greater weight to the topic of money in your publications. FEER, for example, has a new "Money" section. Is the topic of money the current growth engine par excellence for the business press?
Revzin: Partly. The other important driver is technology.
Does Dow Jones have plans for its own German-language publications, after competitor Financial Times already took this step a few months ago with its German edition?
Revzin: We don't have any concrete plans.
How does Dow Jones plan to grow its publications in the future?
Revzin: The strategy is to continue investing in our brands. We will also invest in Internet projects and electronic channels, because the market is far from saturated.
Where do you see potential in the European market?
Revzin: New launches and major expansions depend heavily on the stability of the respective economy. Most pan-European publications are in English, and this market will continue to grow. We have invested heavily in WSJ-Europe because we believe in Europe. Whether we can approach the Financial Times on its own territory we will see, but we have very ambitious growth targets and are also prepared to invest.
In Germany, new stock exchange and financial publications are currently springing up all over the place. Is this a flash in the pan?
Revzin: To be honest, I don't know either. As a newspaper with liberal and capitalist views, we naturally think that competition is good. Information pluralism is important, and we will do our best to stay in competition. Take, for example, on any given day, the news on the front pages of the English-language Financial Times and WSJ-Europe: they are totally different. Two European newspapers, but they are totally different. There's enough to write about. If you compare Handelsblatt and Financial Times Deutschland, you find a lot of different stories. If there is a market for all that and people trust a new product as a reliable source of information, that's great. But I don't know if the market will remain as receptive to new launches as it is at the moment.
The market is also booming because private investors in Europe are now also focusing more and more on the stock market and need well-founded information to do so. What will happen to the business press if the bull market comes to an end?
Revzin: Whether the stock market is booming or ailing is not that important: investors need sound information in both cases.
But the audience for business newspapers has become broader in recent years?
Revzin: That's right, especially in Europe, the audience has grown beyond the segment of wealthy business people in recent years. I think in Europe, people increasingly have to worry about things like private retirement planning. And there's no getting around the stock market. In the United States and to some extent in Asia, everyone knows what's going on in the stock markets. From cab drivers to supermarket clerks. Everyone is interested in the stock market, even my mother.
Will new structures in the labor market, such as flexible networks instead of fixed ties, have an impact on the demand for business publications?
Revzin: I think they will have an impact in a positive sense. The more an information economy develops, and the more information flows internationally between these networks, the more decisions have to be made on a global scale. Modern companies have back offices in India, production facilities in Eastern Europe, offices in New Jersey. The more you get into it, the more everyone in such an international company relies on information about all these markets. In addition, people who work with information are also consumers of information, and that plays into our hands as well. In an Internet company, more employees will read business newspapers than in traditional companies.
Is a concentration process taking place in the business press?
Revzin: There are more alliances, but you can't really talk about a concentration process in the business press. In the U.S., most of the media mergers in the recent past have taken place in the entertainment industry and television.
Interview: Bruno Amstutz
Phil Revzin: Everyone is fascinated by business, the stock market and money. This is, of course, very attractive for providers of business information. The Wall Street Journal in America is booming in an incredible way, it's more successful than ever before. In Europe, the relaunch of the WSJ in February was very successful. Circulation is growing towards 100000 copies. The alliance with Handelsblatt is working great for both sides. But demand for business information is booming not only in print; the Internet and television are also benefiting from the public's unbridled appetite.
You've recently been giving greater weight to the topic of money in your publications. FEER, for example, has a new "Money" section. Is the topic of money the current growth engine par excellence for the business press?
Revzin: Partly. The other important driver is technology.
Does Dow Jones have plans for its own German-language publications, after competitor Financial Times already took this step a few months ago with its German edition?
Revzin: We don't have any concrete plans.
How does Dow Jones plan to grow its publications in the future?
Revzin: The strategy is to continue investing in our brands. We will also invest in Internet projects and electronic channels, because the market is far from saturated.
Where do you see potential in the European market?
Revzin: New launches and major expansions depend heavily on the stability of the respective economy. Most pan-European publications are in English, and this market will continue to grow. We have invested heavily in WSJ-Europe because we believe in Europe. Whether we can approach the Financial Times on its own territory we will see, but we have very ambitious growth targets and are also prepared to invest.
In Germany, new stock exchange and financial publications are currently springing up all over the place. Is this a flash in the pan?
Revzin: To be honest, I don't know either. As a newspaper with liberal and capitalist views, we naturally think that competition is good. Information pluralism is important, and we will do our best to stay in competition. Take, for example, on any given day, the news on the front pages of the English-language Financial Times and WSJ-Europe: they are totally different. Two European newspapers, but they are totally different. There's enough to write about. If you compare Handelsblatt and Financial Times Deutschland, you find a lot of different stories. If there is a market for all that and people trust a new product as a reliable source of information, that's great. But I don't know if the market will remain as receptive to new launches as it is at the moment.
The market is also booming because private investors in Europe are now also focusing more and more on the stock market and need well-founded information to do so. What will happen to the business press if the bull market comes to an end?
Revzin: Whether the stock market is booming or ailing is not that important: investors need sound information in both cases.
But the audience for business newspapers has become broader in recent years?
Revzin: That's right, especially in Europe, the audience has grown beyond the segment of wealthy business people in recent years. I think in Europe, people increasingly have to worry about things like private retirement planning. And there's no getting around the stock market. In the United States and to some extent in Asia, everyone knows what's going on in the stock markets. From cab drivers to supermarket clerks. Everyone is interested in the stock market, even my mother.
Will new structures in the labor market, such as flexible networks instead of fixed ties, have an impact on the demand for business publications?
Revzin: I think they will have an impact in a positive sense. The more an information economy develops, and the more information flows internationally between these networks, the more decisions have to be made on a global scale. Modern companies have back offices in India, production facilities in Eastern Europe, offices in New Jersey. The more you get into it, the more everyone in such an international company relies on information about all these markets. In addition, people who work with information are also consumers of information, and that plays into our hands as well. In an Internet company, more employees will read business newspapers than in traditional companies.
Is a concentration process taking place in the business press?
Revzin: There are more alliances, but you can't really talk about a concentration process in the business press. In the U.S., most of the media mergers in the recent past have taken place in the entertainment industry and television.
Interview: Bruno Amstutz
