WSJ editions join tabloid trend

Mock-up of how the new Wall Street Journal Europe should look

The Wall Street Journal Europe and sister newspaper The Asian Wall Street Journal are to shrink from broadsheet size to tabloid.

Publisher Dow Jones said the first tabloid - or compact - editions, would be produced on 17 October.

The US company said the move to smaller-scale newspapers reflected a growing trend across Europe, and would also help reduce production costs.

The compact size would also be more convenient and easier to read, it said.

Business focus

Dow Jones estimates that the switch will lower annual production costs by $17m (£9m).

The change will also see The Asian Wall Street Journal renamed as The Wall Street Journal Asia. It has a circulation of 80,883, while that of The Wall Street Journal Europe has 86,156.

All editions of The Wall Street Journal are aimed at business readers.

A new joint-subscription service, whereby corporate readers can pay a single fee to receive a daily copy of The Wall Street Journal and access the newspaper's online edition, is also being introduced.

The online edition - WSJ.com - says it has the largest paid subscription news website on the internet, with 731,000 paid subscribers.