CompanyGraph
News Corporation Class B Common Stock
NWS · United States
A media and property business built around the direct integration of Dow Jones Newswires reporting into Wall Street Journal editorial production, with REA Group's Australian property listings platform operating as a structurally separate leg.
Dow Jones Newswires journalists produce real-time financial data that feeds directly into Wall Street Journal editorial production, so the same act of reporting generates both the professional terminal product and the newspaper's financial coverage — but physical printing deadlines in New York, London, and Sydney impose cutoff times that cap the newspaper's capacity to match digital competitors on late-breaking stories, even as the wire product itself faces no such constraint. That shared journalist staff and technical infrastructure means a strike or system failure degrades both product lines at the same time, making the integration that defines the bundle the precise mechanism of correlated disruption. The bundle's switching barrier holds because competitors cannot replicate it without separately licensing Dow Jones feeds, and experienced journalists whose source networks cannot be automated remain the bottleneck on editorial capacity regardless of capital deployment. REA Group operates outside this cycle entirely — agent dependence on the platform compounds as listing histories and concentrated consumer search patterns make departure costly, though Australian foreign investment restrictions on residential property directly reduce the listing volumes on which that network density depends.
How does this company make money?
Money enters the business through several distinct mechanics: digital and print subscription payments from Wall Street Journal and Times readers; real estate agent listing payments and advertising through REA Group's Australian platform; HarperCollins book sales to retailers and direct consumers; and professional terminal subscription payments from financial services firms for Dow Jones data access.
What makes this company hard to replace?
Wall Street Journal subscribers receive Dow Jones Newswires integration and market data access bundled with editorial content that competitors cannot replicate without separately licensing Dow Jones feeds — the bundle itself creates the switching barrier. Australian real estate agents face platform switching costs tied to existing property listing histories and established consumer search patterns that drive their lead generation, making departure from REA Group costly in practical terms.
What limits this company?
Physical printing facility deadlines in New York, London, and Sydney create immovable cutoff times: any financial news breaking after plate-setting cannot enter the print edition, and editorial staff must finalize coverage before those cutoffs regardless of market conditions, capping the newspaper's capacity to match real-time digital competitors on late-breaking stories.
What does this company depend on?
The business depends on several named upstream inputs: newsprint supply contracts for physical newspaper production; printing facility leases in New York and London; retail distribution networks for HarperCollins book sales; real estate agent subscriptions to REA Group's platform in Australia; and editorial staff holding press credentials with active source networks in major financial centers.
Who depends on this company?
Financial traders who rely on Wall Street Journal market-opening coverage for pre-market decisions would lose critical timing information if that coverage were disrupted. Australian real estate agents using REA Group would lose their primary customer acquisition channel in a market where the platform concentrates property search. Independent bookstores stocking HarperCollins titles would face inventory gaps across major publishing categories.
How does this company scale?
Digital subscription delivery and REA Group's property listing software can serve additional users at near-zero marginal cost once developed. Editorial news gathering and book acquisition, however, depend on experienced journalists and editors whose judgment and source networks cannot be automated or rapidly expanded through capital deployment alone — these remain the bottleneck as the business grows.
What external forces can significantly affect this company?
Australian foreign investment restrictions on residential property purchases directly reduce REA Group's addressable market and listing volumes. Sterling-to-dollar exchange rate fluctuations affect the reported value of The Times and The Sun operations when results are converted to USD. Changes to U.S. postal service delivery schedules affect Wall Street Journal print subscriber retention in suburban markets.
Where is this company structurally vulnerable?
Because the same journalist staff and technical infrastructure produce both the Dow Jones wire product and Wall Street Journal financial reporting, a strike or system failure at that shared layer degrades the terminal subscription product and the newspaper's editorial output at the same time — the integration that defines the structure is the precise mechanism that makes a single disruption correlated across both product lines.