Wall Street Journal to Cease Print Edition in Europe

Physical editions of the Wall Street Journal will no longer be available in Europe as the business and finance newspaper beats a retreat from print outside the U.S.

The Wall Street Journal, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, will focus on digital subscriptions in Asia and Europe as part of the organisation’s efforts to cut costs.

According to sources familiar with the plans, the print edition of the newspaper will be scrapped in Europe  — ending the distribution of free copies, and deals under which hotels buy bulk copies at a discount  — but owners are debating whether to continue mailing copies to subscribers who still want to receive the paper in physical form.

The Journal will continue publishing an Asian edition in Tokyo but is looking at other ways to reduce publishing elsewhere on the continent, whilst edited highlights from the business-focused daily remain available as inserts in the Murdoch-owned Australian newspaper.

A spokesman for Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, declined to comment on its plans for specific regions but gave a statement that it was “constantly examining the balance between print and digital at a time when we’re seeing sharp growth in customer demand for digital”.

The Wall Street Journal hopes to cut about $100 million (£77 million) in costs under a major shift in strategy called WSJ2020, as publishers battle continued falls in print advertising.

Dow Jones announced last week it will be closing Heat Street, the self-described “punky libertarian” website founded by former Tory MP Louise Mensch, after little more than a year.

The operation will be moved under investor brand MarketWatch, according to a spokesman for Dow Jones, who said in an emailed statement: “The Heat Street brand and future content associated with the brand will be part of the MarketWatch group.

“The operation will be restructured under the MarketWatch umbrella, with the goal of strengthening cultural, entertainment and gaming coverage.”

Reportedly, Fox News had explored acquiring Heat Street but the company was deterred from taking on the property by Mensch’s crusade against U.S. President Donald J. Trump, despite the former Heat Street editor having left the website in December.

Whilst the blog claimed to stand against identity politics and what it labels “social justice warriors” under the slogan “no safe spaces”, Mensch was revealed last year to have pitched a campaign advertisement script for Hillary Clinton, which appeared to centre around the premise that the Democratic presidential candidate should be installed in office on the basis she is female and supported by “multiracial” women.