• by Paul Gough , February 5, 2004

When The Wall Street Journal's Spanish-language edition begins to appear as a weekly pullout in Hoy next month, it will extend the newspaper's business coverage and national advertisers to a new audience in the United States.

The eight-page tabloid replaces a two-page broadsheet that has run weekly for a year in a single newspaper. Soon, The Wall Street Journal-named section will have a circulation of more than 115,000 in three of the nation's largest Hispanic markets: New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. It will also continue to appear in The Washington Hispanic, a 30,000-circulation Spanish-language weekly serving the Washington, D.C., and could expand to other cities soon.

Content will include material from The Wall Street Journal and The Wall Street Journal Americas, an edition of business news that focuses on central and South America. Stories will center on personal finance, technology, small business, and financial information from Central and South America. Some original stories are planned, but much of the content will be translated or adapted by Dow Jones' Spanish-language desk in Jersey City, N.J.

The Spanish-language edition would also open up a new avenue for national print advertising targeting the new and established Hispanic population, which has become the largest minority group in the United States. "We're really just starting to talk to advertisers about it, now that we can tell them what markets we'll be in and rates," said William E. Casey Jr., vice president/special editions for The Wall Street Journal. "We would expect that we would focus on financial and technology advertisers who are already Journal customers, both in the United States and Latin America. We would expect also to be pitching to the automotive category and travel as well." The Journal will be responsible for advertising although there may be some space for local sales as well, said Ralph Morales, Hoy's director of business development.

In New York, Hoy's circulation has grown to 94,000 daily. In five months of publishing, the Chicago edition's circulation is about 17,000 daily. Tribune Co. hasn't yet released a target circulation for the Los Angeles edition, which will begin in March. Los Angeles is the largest Hispanic market in the United States.

Casey said that partnering with Hoy gives the Spanish-language Journal reach in the largest Hispanic markets.

"That allows us to provide the backbone to what we hope to develop as a national ad network," Casey said. "We will look for partners in Texas and Florida and other areas."

Morales said the Spanish-language Journal will fill a need among established residents as well as first-generation and more recent arrivals.

"I don't think that this particular audience was able to get it (financial information) out of any particular print media" in the past, Morales said.

Johnny A. Yataco, publisher and founder of the weekly Washington Hispanic, said the readers enjoy The Journal's Spanish-language edition, and have found it important to help keep up with business and financial news.

"It would be very hard for us to get this information and put it together," Yataco said.

The Washington Hispanic has made an effort to gain readership among the Spanish-speaking people who are in the D.C. area because of foreign embassies, the Organization of American States, and various development agencies. Yataco said that many already know the brand through The Wall Street Journal Americas.

Aida Levitan, co-chairman and chief executive officer of Publicis Sanchez & Levitan in Miami, said that The Journal's content will be readily consumed by Hispanics who are interested--particularly in stories about small business--but feel more comfortable reading in Spanish than in English.

Levitan, who is also president of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies, said the move by The Journal and Hoy is great news for Hispanic readers and the advertisers who are trying to reach them.

"The fact that they are now so conscious of the growing importance of the Hispanic market and the need to reach Hispanics with relevant content ... is a testimony to the tremendous importance of the Hispanic market in the United States and the growth of the business community of Hispanics," Levitan said.