• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, November 13, 2009

At least one group appears to be profiting handsomely from the advertising recession: McKinsey & Co.

News Corp. has become the latest media company to enlist the consulting firm, tapping it to review its Dow Jones business, according to a Forbes report.

That comes after McKinsey conducted a high-profile evaluation of Conde Nast's operations that appears to have resulted in the shutdown of several magazines. Forbes also cited reports that Time Warner has engaged the company for its magazine segment.

Dow Jones operates The Wall Street Journal, one of the few publications to devise a pay model for its Web site. But it has been hurt by the ad slump, in line with the industry.

Forbes quoted a representative for the WSJ saying that McKinsey is not being brought in to cut costs. "Our emphasis is on building and growing our products," he told the magazine.

For the most recent quarter, News Corp. reported operating income of $25 million at its publishing segment, down $109 million from the same period last year. The company did not offer specifics, but said ad dollars were down at the WSJ and revenues fell at Dow Jones' newswire operations.

The WSJ, which now has the largest circulation of any paper in the U.S. and has a refashioned European edition, has increased its newsstand price.