EXHIBIT 99.2
Contact: Roger May
(212) 416-2601
Geoffrey Moore
(212) 416-3695
DOW JONES ANNOUNCES REVITALIZATION
PLAN FOR DOW JONES TELERATE
NEW YORK, N.Y. (January 20, 1997) -- Dow Jones & Company announced a
multiyear investment program to expand and revitalize Dow Jones
Telerate, the company's global financial information services unit.
The investment is expected to total up to $650 million in capital
expenditures and increased development and operating expenses over the
next 36 to 48 months.
"This investment program represents a bold and cohesive strategy
for Dow Jones Telerate that will significantly enhance Dow Jones'
long-term shareholder value and benefit our customers," said Peter R.
Kann, chairman and chief executive officer of Dow Jones. "Dow Jones
Telerate is a successful business and participates in a growing global
information industry. It has experienced some slowdown recently, and
we mean to remedy that."
"We've long been known as a leader in market-moving news, real-
time U.S. Treasury prices that serve as benchmarks to other markets,
and the industry's widest range of third-party value-added services,"
said Kenneth L. Burenga, chief executive officer of Dow Jones Telerate
and president of Dow Jones. "Today's announcement commits Dow Jones
to achieving a leadership position in historical data, transactional
services, risk management and analytics. With the new technological
infrastructure already in development, we will be a strategic partner
of choice in the global financial services industry of the next
century."
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Dow Jones Telerate, one of Dow Jones' largest business units,
will be expanded to provide the world's financial institutions with a
full array of information and services for trading, analysis,
research, risk management and transactions in major market segments.
Plans call for far-ranging enhancements to Dow Jones Telerate's
services and network; a reorganization around market segments; and new
partnership programs for customers in the global fixed income,
equities, foreign exchange, commodities and energy markets.
The investment in Dow Jones Telerate will be funded mostly out of
operating cash flow, and Dow Jones does not expect to incur a
significant amount of additional debt to finance the program.
The company estimates that after giving effect to this investment
program, Dow Jones' 1997 earnings will be between $1.20 and $1.40 per
share. Earnings in 1998 also will be affected by the program.
The investment that Dow Jones is making will be dedicated to:
* Expanding Content. News, prices, and analyses will be
broadened to provide complete coverage of major asset classes for
sell-side and buy-side institutions, built upon a new expanded
historical data warehouse and an extended base of research and
analytical programs.
* New Delivery Systems. Data from Dow Jones Telerate and its
content partners will be delivered to customers worldwide over a new
high-speed, secure network using standardized Internet-protocol
delivery technologies. Easy to use interactive capabilities will be
an integral element of the new delivery system facilitating real-time
trading, messaging, and research with such features as three-
dimensional graphics and access to original-format documents.
* Strengthened Management. Dow Jones Telerate is changing its
marketing focus from geographic regions to specific market segments,
reflecting the globalization of the financial markets. Senior
executives are being recruited to direct and be accountable for these
market segments, reporting directly to the CEO of Dow Jones Telerate.
More detailed announcements of these Dow Jones Telerate plans will be
made within the next 90 days. Already several cross-functional
development teams are creating new products that will be launched
later this year.
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* Customer Orientation. Dow Jones Telerate will make an
unprecedented investment in establishing and implementing a pervasive
customer care program in which sales and support staffs will work more
closely with customers, assist them in achieving solutions, and
partner with them to achieve their profit objectives.
"We are acting decisively at Dow Jones Telerate to exploit recent
advances in technology, build on traditional market strengths, and tap
new revenue streams," Mr. Burenga said. "By broadening and deepening
its information and analytic resources, in concert with the global
resources of Dow Jones and its authoritative outside providers, Dow
Jones Telerate will become a comprehensive source for customers'
information and decision-support requirements. Global transactional
capabilities will enable customers to perform every activity they
require from information gathering, to analysis and evaluation, to
execution and settlement."
Dow Jones also publishes The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, other
business periodicals, business and financial news wires and community
newspapers, and produces business television programming. Dow Jones
Business Information Services, the electronic publishing arm, provides
business and financial news and information products, including The
Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition on the World Wide Web and Dow
Jones News/Retrieval.
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This press release contains forward-looking statements that
are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results
and events could differ materially from those anticipated in the
forward-looking statements. The words "estimates," "intends,"
"will be," "plans," "expects," "likely" and similar expressions
identify forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such
a difference include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability
to achieve and implement the planned enhancements of Dow Jones
Telerate's products and services on a timely and cost-effective
basis and customer acceptance of those products and services;
general economic conditions and business conditions (growth or
consolidation) in the financial services and banking industries,
and their impact on advertising sales and sales of the Company's
products and services; cost of newsprint; risks associated with the
launch of new television channels in the U.S. and abroad in
competitive markets; and such other risk factors as may have been
or may be included from time to time in the Company's SEC reports,
including the 8-K report filed today.
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