At one time, newspapers were incredibly influential in terms of their ability to shape opinion. This is not the case anymore. The main reason for this is the fact that online news sources are providing serious competition to the traditional print press. This has led to a significant decline in newspaper circulations.

However, a small number of print newspapers like the Wall Street Journal have not only survived the online storm; they have done extraordinarily well despite the competition. The newspaper still boasts two million readers a day. Even more impressive, however, is the fact that the paper has transitioned quite well into the online medium. Its online subscriber numbers are staggering as the paper has close to one million members. These are truly amazing numbers and it leads many people to wonder the secret of the Wall Street Journal’s success.

Part of the reason is that although the newspaper is named after a particular street in New York City, the subject matter of the paper is international in scope. There are financial markets all over the world. People involved in these markets require an influx of news on the subject of banking, finance, and the economy.

Whether it is the financial district of modern London or the black Wall Street of 1920’s Oklahoma, people all over the world have required financial news. The Wall Street Journal provided for that need. As a result, it has been reaping the rewards since its inception in an earlier century.

Of course, the ability for the Journal to stay relevant ties in with the foresight to create an online presence. This is no minor feat. Had it not effectively developed a credible online subscription service it would have lost ground to more visionary start ups. Yes, the Journal could have gotten into the game at a later date but this would have been seen as a “follow the leader” tactic and not one of innovation. The New York Times learned this lesson when its late start into online news subscription services never caught on.

How ahead of the game was the newspaper in this regard? Well, the website debuted in 1996. (URL: WallStreetJoural.com) The internet was making its first expansion into people’s homes during this time period. They were well ahead of the curve since it immediately jumped into the fray. Yes, several newspapers had websites but they were sparse and did not truly embody the look and feel of a new media dynamo. The Wall Street Journal Online did and it set the foundation for the future growth that it would soon experience.

Part of the reason for this is that they understood the trends media communications were being directed. Since the Wall Street Journal lived in a realm of dollars and cents, it understood that the future of news would be found in online subscriptions. Traditional newspapers were simply too mired in tradition to grasp this concept. As such, they fell behind while the Wall Street Journal embraced change and rode it to significant new media success.

This is an article written by one of our Wall Street experts of the Wall Street Gemzies page. This Gemzies page is an Online Wall Street Community where fellow experts can share, rate and find websites, videos photos, books and the latest news. We have got some great content on the Wall Street Bull, Black Wall Street and the Wall Street Journal. We invite you to join our Wall Street Gemzies. Article by Marcel_Van_Brienen.

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A few thoughts by MyOrbit: 

The  Wall Street Journal has maintained a prime position in the free market economy, and whether you agree with their views or differ, it is a fact that their view reaches a few million business/financial professionals, and hence has the ability to make tremendous positive or negative influence on any topic they touch.

That said, the online medium, including blogs and websites like ours, are playing an increasingly important role in providing the raw material/ stories that ultimately appear on the pages of Wall Street Journal. The advances in online media have made it possible to get noticed rapidly. For example, Many reporters regularly pick stories from the top social bookmarking sites like Digg and Stumble-Upon.

These are interesting times, and Wall Street Journal surely has made itself comfortable in the online space, which in way, ensures its survival and leadership position in the coming years.