SECURITIES & EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D. C. 20549
                                    FORM 10-K

(X)  Annual Report  Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the  Securities  Exchange
     Act of 1934 For the fiscal year ended  December  31, 1998
     Commission File Number: 0-7832

                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
              Wisconsin                39-6153189
        (State of organization)        (I.R.S. employer identification number)
        333 West State Street, P. O. Box 661, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201
                Address of principal executive offices (zip code)
              Registrant's telephone number, including area code:
                                  414-224-2374
          Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
                                      NONE
          Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
                          Units of Beneficial Interest
                                (title of class)

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required
to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during
the  preceding 12 months (or for such  shorter  period that the  Registrant  was
required  to file  such  reports)  and  (2)  has  been  subject  to such  filing
requirements for the past 90 days. Yes X No ___

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent  filers  pursuant to Item 405
of Regulation S-K (Section 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and
will not be  contained,  to the best of  registrant's  knowledge,  in definitive
proxy or information  statements  incorporated  by reference in Part III of this
Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. [ x ]

State the aggregate market value of the voting stock held
by non-affiliates of Registrant: Not Applicable.

Indicate the number of shares  outstanding  of each of the  issuer's  classes of
common stock, as of March 19, 1999:

                   Class                    Outstanding at March 19, 1999
         Units of Beneficial Interest                24,552,705

Portions  of Parts I, II and III are  incorporated  by  reference  to the Annual
Report of Journal  Communications  Inc. on Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 1998, filed herewith as Exhibit 99.1.  Portions of Part III are incorporated
by reference to the Proxy Statement of Journal Communications Inc., for the 1999
Annual Meeting of Journal  Communications Inc., to be filed as Exhibit 99.2 upon
its publication on or about April 30, 1999.


                                       1
<PAGE>

                                     PART I
                                ITEM 1. BUSINESS

The  Registrant  is a trust  created  under the Journal  Employees'  Stock Trust
Agreement,  dated May 15, 1937, as amended (the "Trust  Agreement"),  by all the
stockholders of The Journal Company (now known as Journal  Communications Inc.),
a Wisconsin corporation (the "Company"),  to promote stability and to enable its
employees to acquire ownership and control of the Company.

Under the Trust  Agreement  establishing  the  Registrant,  stockholders  of the
Company and the Company itself  deposited  shares of the Company's  stock in the
Trust and received in exchange units of beneficial interest ("Units"),  which in
turn have been sold to active  employees  of the Company  and its  subsidiaries.
Each Unit represents a beneficial  interest in one share of the Company's common
stock.  When  Unitholders  sell all or a portion of their units,  they must sell
only  through the  corporate  treasury  to active  employees  designated  by the
President of the Company or the Company at the formula  price  ("Option  Price")
defined in the Trust  Agreement.  Unitholders  are required to sell all of their
Units when they die or terminate  employment,  except that (i) retired employees
may retain a decreasing percentage of their Units for ten years after retirement
and (ii)  employees who are  terminated  due to downsizing  or  divestiture  may
retain a decreasing  percentage  of their Units for up to five (5) years.  As of
the date hereof,  the  Registrant  holds  25,920,000  shares,  or ninety percent
(90%), of the outstanding common stock of the Company.

The  Registrant  engages in no business other than the record holding of Company
shares,  the issuing of Units and, in limited  instances,  the voting of Company
shares held by it. Most  expenses  of  administering  the Trust are borne by the
Company.

There are five trustees of the Registrant, all employees of the Company, none of
whom receives any compensation in his capacity as trustee. The Registrant has no
employees.

For a further  discussion of the Trust's operation and Unit ownership,  see Item
5, "Market for Registrant's  Common Stock and Related Stock Holder Matters," and
Item 12, "Security  Ownership of Certain  Beneficial  Owners and Management," in
the Annual Report of Journal Communications Inc. on Form 10-K, filed herewith as
Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference.

                               ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

The  Registrant  owns no  physical  properties.  Its  records  are  kept and its
administrative  functions are performed in the offices of Journal Communications
Inc., in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

                            ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
                                      None.

          ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS
                                      None.


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<PAGE>

                                     PART II
            ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON STOCK AND RELATED
                             SECURITY HOLDER MATTERS

Reference is made to Item 5, "Market For  Registrant's  Common Stock and Related
Stock Holder Matters," of the Annual Report of Journal  Communications  Inc., on
Form 10-K filed herewith as Exhibit 99.1, and incorporated by reference.

                         ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

Registrant  incorporates  herein by reference Item 6, "Selected Financial Data,"
of the Annual Report of Journal Communications Inc., on Form 10-K filed herewith
as Exhibit 99.1.

            ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL
                       CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Registrant incorporates herein by reference Item 7, "Management's Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," of the Annual Report
of Journal Communications Inc., on Form 10-K filed
herewith as Exhibit 99.1.

       ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
                                      None.

                    ITEM 8. CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
                             AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

The  Financial  Statements  With  Report  of  Independent  Public  Auditors  are
presented on the pages immediately following.


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<PAGE>


Report of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors


The Trustees of Journal
      Employees' Stock Trust


We have audited the accompanying  statement of assets and liabilities of Journal
Employees'  Stock Trust (the Trust) as of December 31, 1998, 1997, and 1996, and
the related  statements  of Journal  Communications  Inc.  common stock held and
Trust certificates outstanding,  Trust income, and cash flows for the years then
ended. These financial  statements are the responsibility of the Trustees of the
Trust. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements
based on our audits.

We  conducted  our  audits  in  accordance  with  generally   accepted  auditing
standards.  Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material
misstatement.  An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting
the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements.  An audit also includes
assessing the accounting  principles used and significant  estimates made by the
Trustees, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We
believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion,  the financial  statements  referred to above present fairly, in
all material  respects,  the assets and liabilities of Journal  Employees' Stock
Trust at December 31, 1998, 1997 and 1996,  Journal  Communications  Inc. common
stock held and Trust certificates outstanding,  Trust income, and cash flows for
the  years  then  ended  in  conformity  with  generally   accepted   accounting
principles.


ERNST & YOUNG LLP


Milwaukee, Wisconsin
January 29, 1999


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<PAGE>



                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST

                       STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

                        December 31, 1998, 1997 and 1996


                                                   1998    1997    1996
                                                   ----    ----    ----

Assets:
    Cash in bank                                   $  0    $100    $100
                                                   ====    ====    ====

Liabilities:
    Note payable to Journal Communications Inc.    $  0    $100    $100
                                                   ====    ====    ====




                             See accompanying notes.


                                       5
<PAGE>


                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST

                    STATEMENT OF JOURNAL COMMUNICATIONS INC.
                    COMMON STOCK HELD AND TRUST CERTIFICATES
                                   OUTSTANDING

                  Years ended December 31, 1998, 1997 and 1996

                                                 1998        1997        1996 
                                              ----------  ----------  ----------


Shares of Journal Communications Inc.
   common stock:
    Held at beginning and end of year         25,920,000  25,920,000  25,920,000
                                              ==========  ==========  ==========
Trust certificates evidencing Units
   of Beneficial Interest in Journal
   Communications Inc. common stock:
    Outstanding at beginning and end of year  25,920,000  25,920,000  25,920,000
                                              ==========  ==========  ==========




                             See accompanying notes.


                                       6
<PAGE>


                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST

                            STATEMENT OF TRUST INCOME

                  Years ended December 31, 1998, 1997 and 1996


                                             1998         1997         1996 
                                          -----------  -----------  -----------
Dividends on common stock of
 Journal Communications Inc.
 held by the Trust                        $27,887,406  $27,075,494  $25,010,263
                                          ===========  ===========  ===========

Dividends to holders of Units of
 Beneficial Interest                      $27,887,406  $27,075,494  $25,010,263
                                          ===========  ===========  ===========

Dividends per share                             $1.10        $1.10        $1.10




                             See accompanying notes.


                                       7
<PAGE>


                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST

                             STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

                  Years ended December 31, 1998, 1997 and 1996


                                          1998           1997          1996   
                                      ------------   ------------  ------------
Sources of cash:
     Receipts from purchasers of
      Units of Beneficial Interest    $142,497,943   $113,015,360  $ 88,661,471

     Dividends received from
      Journal Communications Inc.       27,887,406     27,075,494    25,010,263
                                      ------------   ------------  ------------
                                       170,385,349    140,090,854   113,671,734

Uses of cash:
     Disbursements to sellers of
      Units of Beneficial Interest    (142,498,043)  (113,015,360)  (88,661,471)

     Dividends paid to holders of
      Units of Beneficial Interest     (27,887,406)   (27,075,494)  (25,010,263)
                                      ------------   ------------  ------------

Net increase (decrease) in cash               (100)           ---           ---

Cash at beginning of year                      100            100           100
                                      ------------   ------------  ------------

Cash at end of year                   $          0   $        100  $        100
                                      ============   ============  ============



                             See accompanying notes.


                                       8
<PAGE>


                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST
                          NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

                        December 31, 1998, 1997 and 1996

1.  Organization
    ------------
The only business of Journal Employees' Stock Trust (the Trust), under agreement
dated May 15, 1937, as amended, is the record holding of common stock of Journal
Communications Inc. (the Company),  the issuance of Units of Beneficial Interest
in such shares  (Units) and, in limited  instances,  the voting of shares of the
Company's  common stock held by it. The Trust is  administered  by five trustees
who are  officers/directors  of the  Company  and  receive no  remuneration  for
services  performed for the Trust.  The trustees are required to distribute  all
Trust income  (consisting  solely of dividends  paid by the Company),  less such
amounts as the trustees deem necessary for payment of  administrative  expenses,
as soon as practicable after receipt.  Since its origination,  substantially all
expenses of the Trust have been paid by the Company,  and cash dividends payable
to the Trust have been paid  directly to the  unitholders  by the  Company.  The
Trust distributes all of its income and,  therefore,  pays no income taxes under
applicable income tax codes.

2.  Common Stock of the Company
    ---------------------------
Upon deposit by the Company of shares of common  stock,  the Trust issues a like
number of Units and the Company offers such Units to its employees, or employees
of its subsidiaries  (Employees).  Sales of Units by the Company are made at the
formula price determined in accordance with the Trust Agreement.

3.  Unitholders' Sales of Units of Beneficial Interest
    --------------------------------------------------
Unitholders  may sell all or a portion of their  Units  only to other  employees
designated by the President of the Company or, under certain  circumstances,  to
shareholders  of the Company,  at the current  formula price under the terms and
conditions of the Trust Agreement. If the Units are not sold in this manner, the
Units are freely  transferable,  subject to a five-year  right of the Company to
purchase the Units at any time at the formula price.  Payments for Units sold by
employees  are  deposited  with the Trust by the  purchaser  and remitted by the
Trust to the seller.

4.  Journal  Communications'  Stock  Split
    --------------------------------------
On December 1, 1998, the Board of Directors of the Company approved an increase,
effective  January 5, 1999,  in  authorized  common  stock  from  14,400,000  to
28,800,000  shares,  reduced  the par  value  from  $.25 to $.125  per share and
approved a two-for-one common stock split.  Because each share of stock is equal
to one unit of beneficial interest in the Trust, the stock split has resulted in
a two-for-one  split of the units in the Trust.  The total value of the units in
the Trust, however, remains the same. All references to shares, units, per-share
and per-unit amounts elsewhere in the financial statements have been restated to
reflect this stock split.


                                       9
<PAGE>


            ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON
                       ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
                                      None.

                                    PART III
          ITEM 10. DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT

The  following  list shows the names and ages of  Registrant's  trustees and the
year in which each became a trustee.  It also shows the  positions  held by each
trustee with Journal Communications Inc.
                                                  Position/Office
        Name            Age   Trustee Since       with the Company
        ----            ---   -------------       ----------------
    Steven J. Smith     (48)  March 9, 1990       Chairman & CEO
    Douglas G. Kiel     (50)  March 7, 1995       President
    Paul M. Bonaiuto    (48)  February 1, 1996    Executive Vice President/CFO
    Richard A. Williams (61)  January 14, 1997    Manager, Retirement Benefits &
                                                  Assistant Secretary
    Keith K. Spore      (56)  January 7, 1999     Senior Vice President

All  trustees  are  directors  of  Journal  Communications  Inc.,  and have been
employed by Journal  Communications  Inc.,  in key  management  positions for at
least five years.  Mr. Smith has been Chairman of the Board of the Company since
December 1, 1998, and Chief Executive  Officer since March 3, 1998.  Previously,
he had been President  since  September 1992. Mr. Kiel has been President of the
Company since December 1, 1998. Previously, he had been Executive Vice President
of the Company since June 1997 and President of Journal Broadcast Group, Inc., a
wholly-owned  subsidiary of the Company,  since June 1992. Mr. Bonaiuto has been
an Executive Vice  President of the Company since June 1997 and Chief  Financial
Officer of the Company  since January  1996.  Previously,  he had been elected a
Senior Vice  President  in March 1996.  Prior to that,  Mr.  Bonaiuto had been a
director  and Vice  President of the Company and  President  of NorthStar  Print
Group, Inc., a subsidiary of the Company, from June 1994 to January 1996; Senior
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Perry Printing Corporation, then a
subsidiary  of the  Company,  from July 1992 to June 1994,  and  Executive  Vice
President  of  The  Peterson  Group,  Wilmington,  Delaware,  a  private  equity
investment  firm. Mr. Williams was appointed  Manager of Retirement  Benefits in
February 1997 and Assistant Secretary of the Company in June 1997. Previously he
had been Human Relations  Manager for Journal Sentinel Inc. None of the trustees
of the  Registrant  is a director  or trustee  of a  publicly-owned,  for-profit
corporation.  Mr.  Spore has been Senior  Vice  President  of the Company  since
September   1995  and  President  of  Journal   Sentinel  Inc.,  a  wholly-owned
subsidiary,  since July 1995 and  Publisher of the  Milwaukee  Journal  Sentinel
since June 1996.  Previously,  he was  Editorial  Page  Editor of the  Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel.


                                       10
<PAGE>


                         ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

The five trustees,  all employees of Journal Communications Inc., do not receive
any compensation in their capacity as trustee.  Information  about  compensation
paid to some of these trustees by Journal Communications Inc., in such trustees'
capacities as employees of Journal Communications Inc., will be presented in the
Proxy Statement of Journal  Communications  Inc., to be filed as Exhibit 99.2 on
or about April 30, 1999, and incorporated herein by reference.

     ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

Reference is made to Item 6, "Security  Ownership of Certain  Beneficial  Owners
and  Management," of the Proxy Statement of Journal  Communications  Inc., to be
filed as Exhibit 99.2 on or about April 30,  1999,  and  incorporated  herein by
reference.

             ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
                                      None.

                                     PART IV
    ITEM 14. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES AND REPORTS ON FORM 8-K

(a)  l.  Financial Statements and Schedules

         The financial statements and schedules listed in the accompanying index
         are filed as part of this  annual  report.  All  schedules  are omitted
         since the required  information  is not  present,  or is not present in
         amounts  sufficient to require  submission of the schedule,  or because
         the  information  required is included  in the  consolidated  financial
         statements and notes thereto.

     2.  Exhibits

         The exhibits listed in the accompanying  index to exhibits are filed as
         part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

(b)      Reports on Form 8-K

         No reports on Form 8-K were filed by the Registrant  during the quarter
         ended December 31, 1998.


                                       11
<PAGE>


                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST

                         INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS,
                          FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
                                  AND EXHIBITS

                                  (Item 14(a))

1.       Financial Statements                                  Form 10-K

         Statement of Assets and Liabilities at
            December 31, 1998, 1997 and 1996                       5

         Statement of Journal Communications Inc.
            Common Stock Held and Trust Certificates
            Outstanding for each of the three years in the
            period ended December 31, 1998                         6

         Statement of Trust Income for each of the three
            years in the period ended December 31, 1998            7

         Statement of Cash Flows for each of the three
            years in the period ended December 31, 1998            8

         Notes to Financial Statements                             9

2.       Financial Statement Schedule                            None

3.       Exhibits

         (3.1)    Articles of  Association  of Journal  Communications  Inc., as
                  amended  (incorporated  by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to Journal
                  Communications  Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
                  ended December 31, 1995 [Commission File No. 0-7831]).

         (3.2)    By-Laws  of  Journal   Communications  Inc.  (incorporated  by
                  referenced  to Exhibit  3.1 to Journal  Communications  Inc.'s
                  Current  Report  on Form 8-K dated  March 5, 1996  [Commission
                  File No. 0-7831]).

         (4.1)    The Journal  Employees'  Stock Trust  Agreement  dated May 15,
                  1937,  as amended  (incorporated  by reference to Exhibit 9 to
                  the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Journal  Communications Inc.
                  for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1995  [Commission  File
                  No. 0-7831]).

         (4.2)    Further  amendment  to Stock  Trust  Agreement  as approved by
                  unitholders on October 30, 1996  (incorporated by reference to
                  Exhibit A to the  Definitive  Proxy  Statement  of the Journal
                  Employees'  Stock Trust  included in the Trust's  Schedule 14A
                  filed October 1, 1996 [Commission File No. 0-7832]).

         (23)     Consent  of Ernst & Young  LLP,  Independent  Auditors,  filed
                  herewith.

         (27)     Financial Data Schedule, filed herewith

         (99.1)   Annual Report to Shareholders of Journal  Communications Inc.,
                  on Form 10-K, filed herewith (incorporated by reference to the
                  Annual Report on Form 10-K of Journal  Communications Inc. for
                  the  year  ended  December  31,  1998   [Commission  File  No.
                  0-7831]).

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<PAGE>


         (99.2)   Proxy  Statement of Journal  Communications  Inc., to be filed
                  upon its publication on or about April 30, 1999.

         Pursuant to the  requirements  of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934,  the  Registrant  has duly caused this Annual Report to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.


                                  JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST


                                  By: /s/ Steven J. Smith
                                      Steven J. Smith, Trustee


         Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934,
this report has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant
and in the capacities and on the dates indicated:


                   TRUSTEES OF JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST


Date: 3/31/99                      /s/ Steven J. Smith
                                       -----------------------------
                                       Steven J. Smith


Date: 3/31/99                      /s/ Douglas G. Kiel
                                       -----------------------------
                                       Douglas G. Kiel


Date: 3/31/99                      /s/ Paul M. Bonaiuto
                                       -----------------------------
                                       Paul M. Bonaiuto


Date: 3/31/99                      /s/ Richard A. Williams
                                       -----------------------------
                                       Richard A. Williams


Date: 3/31/99                      /s/ Keith K. Spore
                                       -----------------------------
                                       Keith K. Spore


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