NEW YORK, Sept. 4, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- In an expansion of The Wall Street Journal Online's small business content, StartupJournal.com has been incorporated into a new, free small business channel on WSJ.com called Entrepreneur (www.wsj.com/entrepreneur). StartupJournal.com, launched in 1999, offered small-business owners and entrepreneurs expert guidance to help them survive and grow in a competitive business environment.

"Entrepreneur reflects the depth and extent of The Wall Street Journal Online's small business coverage, which goes beyond the start-up stage," said David Patton, Assistant Managing Editor, WSJ.com, who oversaw the relaunch efforts. "We're excited to offer a free channel featuring The Wall Street Journal's complete coverage of small business issues, from the earliest planning stages to financing growth and expansion -- everything a small business owner or entrepreneur needs to know to succeed."

For the past four years, MasterCard has advertised with StartupJournal.com and it will serve as the launch advertiser for the new Entrepreneur channel as well. Each page of the channel has an integrated "MasterCard Business Center" tab that clicks through to a cobranded MasterCard Web site, which can also be accessed at www.mastercardbusiness.com. For the first two weeks, an expandable rollup advertising unit from MasterCard will run on the channel's homepage. Launch advertising that features MasterCard will also run in the print Journal and across The Wall Street Journal Digital Network, which includes WSJ.com, MarketWatch.com, Barron's Online and AllThingsD.com.

"We are pleased to support the launch of Entrepreneur as an extension of our ongoing commitment to provide small businesses with access to payment and financial products, relevant tools and resources to help them successfully manage and grow their business," said Bruno Perreault, Group Head, Small and Mid-Sized Enterprises, MasterCard Worldwide. "Our long-standing partnership with The Wall Street Journal's small business channels is a highly effective communications platform for reaching small businesses and closely aligns our brand with one of the most respected names in small business content."

The new Entrepreneur channel at www.wsj.com/entrepreneur is organized into tabs or sections including Financing, Running a Business, On Technology, Building Awareness, Franchising, and Small Business Link. Within these sections, the Entrepreneur channel offers:

 
      * Ideas for starting or buying a business, including many of
the nation's hottest franchise and business opportunities,
and the Internet's largest database of businesses for sale.
* Informative small business reports and columns including the
"Small Talk" question-and-answer column by Kelly Spors and
"Enterprise" by Wendy Bounds.
* Extensive resources to help entrepreneurs research the
market, secure financing, hire employees and run an
enterprise.
* Videos and podcasts featuring interviews and advice from
small business owners.
* Small business tools -- create a business plan online, find
free local business assistance, identify investment
opportunities and research trade shows and events related
to your business.

Editorial highlights of www.wsj.com/entrepreneur are the "Small Talk" column, where Kelly Spors answers reader questions about the ins and outs of starting and managing a business, and Wendy Bounds' "Enterprise" column about the challenges of entrepreneurship. Ms. Spors is a small business reporter for The Wall Street Journal; previously she covered personal finance for The Wall Street Journal Sunday and worked in the Journal's Washington, D.C. bureau. As WSJ's small business editor, Ms. Bounds has chronicled the rise and fall of companies in many industries including fashion, travel, retail, marketing and media during the past decade. Ms. Bounds appears weekly on CNBC's "Morning Call" and she is a regular contributor to ABC's "Good Morning America."

WSJ.com's Entrepreneur represents the latest step in integrating and leveraging the Journal's multimedia assets to provide comprehensive business solutions. Small Business Link, a monthly print and online report focusing on one core issue facing small businesses, launched in May and will be included as a section of the new Entrepreneur channel. Past issues of Small Business Link have focused on building a brand, recruiting, technology outsourcing and employee benefits.

About The Wall Street Journal Online

The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com, published by Dow Jones & Company (NYSE:DJ) (www.dowjones.com), is the largest paid subscription news site on the Web. Launched in 1996, the Online Journal continues to attract quality subscribers who are at the top of their industries, with 983,000 subscribers world-wide as of Q2, 2007. The Wall Street Journal Online network includes CareerJournal.com, OpinionJournal.com, RealEstateJournal.com, CollegeJournal.com and Entrepreneur.

The Online Journal provides in-depth business news and financial information 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with insight and analysis, including breaking business and technology news and analysis from around the world. It draws on the Dow Jones network of nearly 1,900 business and financial news staff -- the largest network of business and financial journalists in the world.

In 2007, the Online Journal received the Webby Award for Best Website in the Financial Services category. In 2005, the Online Journal was awarded a Codie Award for Best Online News Service for the second consecutive year, and its Health Industry Edition was awarded Best Online Science or Technology Service for the third consecutive year.

The Wall Street Journal "Online" logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2637

 
CONTACT:  MasterCard
Media Contact:
Jon Schwartz
914-249-6806
 
 <script language='JavaScript' type='text/javascript'>
 <!--
 var prefix = '&#109;a' + 'i&#108;' + '&#116;o';
 var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '=';
 var addy71348 = 'j&#111;n_schw&#97;rtz' + '&#64;';
 addy71348 = addy71348 + 'm&#97;st&#101;rc&#97;rd' + '&#46;' + 'c&#111;m';
 document.write( '<a ' + path + '\'' + prefix + ':' + addy71348 + '\'>' );
 document.write( addy71348 );
 document.write( '<\/a>' );
 //-->\n </script><script language='JavaScript' type='text/javascript'>
 <!--
 document.write( '<span style=\'display: none;\'>' );
 //-->
 </script>This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 <script language='JavaScript' type='text/javascript'>
 <!--
 document.write( '</' );
 document.write( 'span>' );
 //-->
 </script>
The Wall Street Journal Online
Media Contact:
Christine Mohan
212-416-2114
 
 <script language='JavaScript' type='text/javascript'>
 <!--
 var prefix = '&#109;a' + 'i&#108;' + '&#116;o';
 var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '=';
 var addy93258 = 'chr&#105;st&#105;n&#101;.m&#111;h&#97;n' + '&#64;';
 addy93258 = addy93258 + 'd&#111;wj&#111;n&#101;s' + '&#46;' + 'c&#111;m';
 document.write( '<a ' + path + '\'' + prefix + ':' + addy93258 + '\'>' );
 document.write( addy93258 );
 document.write( '<\/a>' );
 //-->\n </script><script language='JavaScript' type='text/javascript'>
 <!--
 document.write( '<span style=\'display: none;\'>' );
 //-->
 </script>This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 <script language='JavaScript' type='text/javascript'>
 <!--
 document.write( '</' );
 document.write( 'span>' );
 //-->
 </script>

---