WSJ's revamped tech section to be called “WSJD”, launches in January
The Wall Street Journal's Answer To AllThingsD Launches Next Month — The Journal's revamped tech coverage section launches next month . The company is launching a global conference, too. — Jason Reed / Reuters
Context & Ripple Effects
The Journal is rebuilding its tech desk around a named brand just weeks after Walt Mossberg's exit, with Geoffrey Fowler leading a team that includes new hires Joanna Stern, Wilson Rothman, and Nathan Olivarez-Giles per the December staffing announcement. Naming it WSJD and pairing it with a global conference signals Dow Jones wants a franchise, not just a section page.
The move lands in a crowded field: Jessica Lessin's $399-a-year Information launched this month with ex-Journal reporters, and Bloomberg has been expanding its own tech coverage since 2012. With AllThingsD no longer under the Journal masthead, WSJD is the replacement play — BuzzFeed's framing calls it exactly that.
First-order effects
- WSJ tech readers and advertisers get a distinct WSJD brand from January, decoupling the paper's tech identity from the departed AllThingsD name.
- The companion global conference puts the Journal directly into the tech-event business, selling sponsors and speakers a stage alongside its coverage.
Second-order effects
- The Information's high-priced subscription model and Bloomberg's expanded desk now compete against a legacy outlet with a branded section and event arm — raising the bar for differentiation on scoops and talent retention.
- Other newspapers with tech ambitions face pressure to productize their coverage (named brands, conferences, standalone apps) rather than run tech as an ordinary section.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, tech journalism consolidates around franchise structures — brand plus event plus subscription — rather than general-assignment desks, mirroring how trade coverage monetizes.
- The talent churn around AllThingsD's breakup suggests star-byline economics are reshaping how big publishers staff and brand verticals, with reporters becoming launch assets.
The trend: Legacy publishers are answering specialist tech outlets by building branded vertical-plus-conference franchises of their own.