NEW YORK, Sept. 24, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Wall Street Journal will unveil an expanded Saturday newspaper tomorrow, Sept. 25. The enhanced Weekend Edition -- now called WSJ Weekend -- will feature new sections and expanded coverage, highlighted by provocative reports and essays on world affairs, business and culture as well as a range of personal and lifestyle coverage and content.
"WSJ Weekend will provide the agenda-setting journalism that defines the Journal along with great reportage and original writing to drive the national debate," said Robert Thomson. "Our readers are keen to spend more time with the Weekend paper and are interested in discerning writing on leisure and lifestyle. The Journal's values will be undiminished, but we hope that its value to our readers will be greatly enhanced."
New Look, Features & Sections
Nationally, Weekend Edition will expand from three sections to four. The Greater New York section will continue to be included for readers in the New York area.
A newly designed masthead will appear on the front page of the Journal, featuring "WSJ" as the center logo. The paper's second section, Money & Investing, will be re-named "Business & Finance" to better reflect its current make-up of financial and markets news from Money & Investing, corporate coverage in Marketplace and expert advice and insights about personal finance and investing in the Weekend Investor pages.
The Journal will also debut two new sections -- "Review" and "Off Duty" -- providing essays and commentary, reviews, ideas and recommendations on books, travel, entertainment, food, wine and more:
- Review will feature agenda-setting insight and thoughtful analysis with in-depth features, reports, book excerpts and essays about the most compelling issues and ideas. New features include Mind & Matter, a weekly column by best-selling science writer Matt Ridley, exploring the science of human nature and its implications; Creating, a profile about the creative processes of artists, scientists, executives, and others; a humor column by Joe Queenan; Sentiment Tracker, analyzing and explaining key topics in the online conversation, and more. In addition, Review will feature expanded coverage of books in a separate pull-out section, with reviews and features that spotlight the world's most engaging and important writers.
- Reflecting what readers think about and do during the weekend, Off Duty will be a weekly style guide with dispatches and advice on fashion, travel, food, wine, decoration and technology. In addition to the Journal's regular wine columns by Jay McInerney and Lettie Teague and auto columnist Dan Neil, new regular features include: Journal Concierge, an insider's guide to a major destination with expert recommendations; Well Spent, a quick shop of a luxury item and why it's worth the investment; Slow Food Fast, an easy-to-prepare, artisanal meal with recipes provided by well-known guest chefs; The Fixer with advice about living with technology; Anatomy Lesson, analysis of a room and the decorating strategies at play, and much more.
The editor of the Review section is Gary Rosen, while Deborah Needleman serves as editor of Off Duty. Both report to Mike Miller, deputy managing editor of the Journal. Robert Messenger oversees the new book section and reports to Paul Gigot, editorial page editor for the Journal. Content from both new sections will also be available on WSJ.com as well as the Journal's iPad app.
Advertisers for the first week of the expanded WSJ Weekend include Montblanc, Westin, Lincoln and Dutton Press.
"The Journal comprises the most affluent and influential audience with the highest purchasing power, and the expanded WSJ Weekend Edition provides a new opportunity for advertisers to reach this audience on Saturdays -- the most important day for consumer spending among readers," said Michael Rooney, chief revenue officer for The Wall Street Journal.
WSJ Weekend Conversations at Lincoln Center
In conjunction with the new WSJ Weekend, the Journal has launched a weekly, live interview series -- WSJ Weekend Conversations at Lincoln Center -- to be hosted Fridays at 10 a.m. ET from Lincoln Center in New York City. Beginning today, the series will feature interviews with artists, musicians and other newsmakers in front of a live audience in the David Rubenstein Atrium.
The first guest for WSJ Weekend Conversations is musician and activist Wyclef Jean, who this week announced he would officially withdraw his candidacy for the presidency of Haiti. Mr. Jean will be interviewed by the Journal's Lee Hawkins for a discussion on a range of topics, including growing up in New York City, his future involvement in Haiti, his creative musical process and upcoming projects.
All interviews will be available on-demand on WSJ.com each Saturday following the previous day's filming.
The WSJ Weekend logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=8043
CONTACT: Dow Jones & Company Media Contact: Ashley S. Huston (212) 416-2025 Ashley.huston@dowjones.com