Dow Jones is the latest media company to call on consultancy McKinsey & Co. for help, Forbes reports. The News Corp (NYSE: NWS). unit appears to be following in the footsteps of other high-profile content companies trying to cope with persistently difficult media environment.
That includes Conde Nast, which tapped McKinsey last summer, and Time Inc., which hired the consultant about two years ago. Both ended up axing hundreds of staffers after being given McKinsey’s analysis. Lately, Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) has reportedly once again asked McKinsey for guidance. Time Warner is said to be looking for ways to slash about $100 million across the publishing segment over the next several months. But a DJ rep tells Forbes that cutting is not what it has in mind.
Instead, DJ says it’s looking to McKinsey to help build and grow its products. True, DJ’s Wall Street Journal has been working on expanding general news coverage in New York and in San Francisco, as it seeks to better match the New York Times. But at the same time, DJ has been paring things down, including closing the WSJ’s Boston bureau.
Beyond that, there was this past week’s sale of DJ’s stake in European index provider Stoxx is another what is considered to be several more divestitures. Two months ago, it also sold news syndicator Screaming Media to content management firm YellowBrix as part of an ongoing strategic evaluation of its businesses.
Although it’s clear that DJ, like every other media company, could benefit from some new ideas about business development, it shouldn’t need much help in figuring out where to cut. Compared to its peers, DJ has been fairly light on layoffs. It’s also worth asking what advice DJ got from Booz Allen when it was hired two years ago to help the company “search for additional sources of revenue.”

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