Wall Street Journal to cease its Asian and European print editions

The 128-year-old paper will stop publishing its European edition on Friday, and its Asian edition a week later.

The decision has been taken as part of its editorial restructuring and falling revenue. The paper’s parent company, News Corp, reported a loss of $643m for the most recent fiscal year, reported The Guardian.

The step is said to bring an end to a 40-year history as the company stops publishing its separate edition for Europe on Friday while its Asian edition will cease publication on October 7.

The paper began publishing a separate Asian edition in 1976 and its European edition followed in 1983.

The US edition of the WSJ will be available in some cities at a later unspecified date, the paper said.

Owing to a steady rise in digital subscriptions, the WSJ plans to focus on encouraging customers in Asia and Europe to read the paper online.

According to the WSJ, those gains in online-only subscriptions made “continuing the foreign editions no longer cost-effective”.

Reports emerged in June 2017 that the WSJ would be ending its publishing operations outside the US.

A spokeswoman at the time said the paper was “constantly examining the balance between print and digital at a time when we’re seeing sharp growth in customer demand for digital”.

The end of publishing separate editions also comes as the paper undergoes a wider restructuring. At the end of 2016, all WSJ employees were eligible for buyouts and layoffs followed shortly after.

The WSJ has seen a host of reporters and editors leave.

During the past year, the paper has seen an exodus of reporters and editors in what was termed as growing frustration with the paper’s coverage of US President Donald Trump, who is said to enjoy congenial relations with the WSJ’s editor Gerry Baker.

According to the Guardian, reports of employees having being “directly stymied” by their editor had emerged.