• by George Simpson , Featured Contributor, December 8, 2006

Earlier this week The Wall Street Journal announced: "We're launching a new kind of newspaper--one that goes well beyond what happened the day before and focuses more on what the news means." A press release went on to quote the managing editor explaining that the "new" WSJ, launching Jan. 2, will have "80% differentiated content, with just 20% dedicated to ensuring readers are aware of yesterday's key developments." So, I guess we'll see more stories about how runway models need to be fatter and less about exchange-traded portfolios. OK by me.

If you hold the press release over the flame of a candle, the subliminal meaning of the claptrap that makes up most corporate press releases begins to emerge.

Key changes to The Wall Street Journal(driven as much by our crappy financial performance as it is by any desire to "innovate") will include:

· New Content Features: (notice how we call it content now and not stories--that's right, we're starting to get it) More "what-it-means" coverage--the Journal's hallmarks of context, analysis and insight--and less "what-happened-yesterday" news (we can't compete with the 24-hour online breaking news, so we're chumping out on the who, what, when and how). New features will include the forward-looking Today's Agenda, alerting readers to the meaning of news they will see later in the day (we having this little black 8 ball that predicts the news, you should get one), and Informed Reader, providing notable insights from sources beyond the Journal(read: content we don't have to pay for). An expanded Letters to the Editor section will reflect the deep engagement of the Journal community of readers (more free content, we are really gettin' it). The popular Personal Journal section will have twice as much cultural coverage as at present (just remember when we say "cultural," we mean things like why your iPod breaks and advice on how to avoid athlete's foot). The redesign will also offer advertisers new content adjacencies, innovative placement opportunities and simplified advertising units. (so, it's not really about the readers--we're doing the same pandering that all offline media with dipping ad revenues is doing).

· Improved Navigational Aids: A 48-inch Web width will make the paper more convenient to hold and carry (not to mention a whole lot cheaper to produce). New, easy-to-read typography, improved labeling, and more prominent headline styles will help readers get more information in less time (our readers aren't getting any younger; most of them haven't been 20-20 for the past dozen annual eye exams). Innovative summary boxes will provide story highlights at a glance, and advanced infographics will enhance visual communication (please God, don't let reviewers compare us to USA Today). A new feature, In Brief, will provide news summaries for key coverage areas inside the paper (in magazines they are called the table of contents, innovated in 1741). Story lengths will be maintained, with easier-to-find continuations.

· Better Print and Online Alignment: The print Journal will now publish tighter packages of yesterday's news with fuller, more detailed stories available at WSJ.com (that way we can force print subscribers to keep paying extra for their online access. How smart are we?). In the newspaper's Money and Investing section, new value-added financial statistics will graphically communicate market information each day (we have to do something to get readers into the most boring newspaper section in all of America). A selection of financial statistics will be culled from the print Journal and made available for free at WSJ.com's new, state-of-the-art Markets Data Center, also launching on Jan. 2, offering cutting-edge tools, interactive data and extensive stock listings (acknowledging that "cutting edge" in the new media age means about 14 to 24 days). The Online Journal will soon introduce exclusive new offerings on personal wealth as well as on work and family (which means we have to pony up for Laura Landro to stay in even more five-star resorts while our readers continue to head for Best Westerns and Hyatts). These innovations will also offer new opportunities for advertisers to reach the Journal audience across both print and online (it is our last, best hope to get non-endemic advertisers to stop playing "Bejeweled" on their cell phones during our sales calls.).