Biz Brief: 'Wall Street Journal' Adding Lifestyle Section

The Wall Street Journal will continue its transformation from a business newspaper to a general-interest read with the addition of a new lifestyle section starting this fall. The section will appear on Saturdays and run 15 to 17 pages, according to Advertising Age's Nat Ives. It's an obvious response to the weekend dominance of The New York Times, which derives a disproportionate share of its revenues from its ad-packed Sunday edition. Overseeing it is Deborah Needleman, who was editor in chief of the shelter magazine Domino until parent Conde Nast Publications closed it last year.

The Journal has already locked itself into a war on the local front with its new metro section, Greater New York, which made its debut in April. News Corp. (NWS) chairman Rupert Murdoch claims the new section is already profitable, and an ad campaign promoting it tweaks the Journal's rival with slogans like "Ahead of the times."