<PAGE>
                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 10-Q

[ X ] QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the quarterly period ended: September 30, 2002

[   ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OF 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934


Commission file number      0-7832
                            ------


                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


<TABLE>
<S>                                                              <C>
                           WISCONSIN                                           39-6153189
 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)  (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)


333 W. State Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin                                                               53203
(Address of principal executive offices)                                         (Zip Code)
</TABLE>

        Registrant's telephone number, including area code: 414-224-2728


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
    -----      -----

As of September 30, 2002 there were 25,920,000 of the Registrant's Units of
Beneficial Interest outstanding (2,810,971 of which were held by Journal
Communications, Inc.).

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                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST
                                      INDEX


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                                     PAGE NO.
                                                                                                     --------
<S>           <C>                                                                                    <C>
Part I.       Financial Information

              Item 1.       Financial Statements

                            Statements of Financial Position
                            As of September 30, 2002 (Unaudited) and December 31, 2001                   3

                            Unaudited Statements of Trust Activity
                            Three and Nine Months ended September 30, 2002 and 2001                      4

                            Unaudited Statements of Cash Flows
                            Nine Months ended September 30, 2002 and 2001                                5

                            Notes to Financial Statements
                            September 30, 2002                                                           6

              Item 2.       Management's Discussion and Analysis of
                            Financial Condition and Results of Operations                                7

              Item 3.       Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure
                            About Market Risk                                                            7

              Item 4.       Controls and Procedures                                                      7

Part II.      Other Information


              Items 1-6.                                                                                 7
</TABLE>


                                       2
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                          PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS


                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST
                        Statements of Financial Position


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                          September 30, 2002            December 31, 2001
                                                          ------------------            -----------------
                                                               (Unaudited)
<S>                                                       <C>                          <C>
Assets                                                             $      --                    $      --
                                                                   =========                    =========



Liabilities                                                        $      --                    $      --
                                                                   =========                    =========

</TABLE>


                       See notes to financial statements.

                                       3
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                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST
                     Unaudited Statements of Trust Activity
                    (in thousands, except per share amounts)


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                             Three Months Ended September 30            Nine Months Ended September 30
                                             -------------------------------            ------------------------------
                                                 2002              2001                     2002             2001
                                                 ----              ----                     ----             ----
<S>                                          <C>                <C>                     <C>               <C>
Dividends on common stock of
   Journal Communications, Inc.
   held by the Stock Trust                    $  6,977           $  8,956                $   21,231         $26,359
                                              ========           ========                ==========         =======



Dividends to holders of units
   of beneficial interest                     $  6,977           $  8,956                $   21,231         $26,359
                                              ========           ========                ==========         =======



Dividends per share                           $   0.30           $   0.35                $     0.90         $  1.05
                                              ========           ========                ==========         =======

</TABLE>


                       See notes to financial statements.

                                        4


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                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST
                       Unaudited Statements of Cash Flows
                                 (in thousands)


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                       Nine Months Ended September 30
                                                     ----------------------------------
                                                       2002                      2001
                                                     ---------                ---------
<S>                                                  <C>                      <C>
Sources of cash:
     Receipts from purchasers of units
         of beneficial interest                      $ 160,937                $ 164,323

     Dividends received from
         Journal Communications, Inc.                   21,231                   26,359
                                                     ---------                ---------

                                                       182,168                  190,682


Uses of cash:
     Disbursements to sellers of
         units of beneficial interest                 (160,937)                (164,323)

     Dividends paid to holders of
         units of beneficial interest                  (21,231)                 (26,359)
                                                     ---------                ---------

                                                      (182,168)                (190,682)



     Net change in cash                                     --                       --

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

     Cash at September 30                            $      --                $      --
                                                     =========                =========


</TABLE>

                       See notes to financial statements.

                                       5
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                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST
                          Notes to Financial Statements
                               September 30, 2002
                                   (Unaudited)

1.       Organization

         The primary business of the Journal Employees' Stock Trust (the Stock
         Trust) is being the holder of record of certain shares of common stock
         of Journal Communications, Inc. (the Company), the issuance of, record
         keeping and transactions in units of beneficial interest (units) that
         represent shares of common stock of the Company owned by the Stock
         Trust, voting (including issuance and tabulation of unitholder proxies)
         of the common stock of the Company owned by the Stock Trust, and such
         other matters as are specified in the Journal Employees Stock Trust
         Agreement, dated May 15, 1937, as amended (the Trust Agreement). The
         Stock Trust is administered by five trustees who are currently officers
         and directors of the Company and receive no remuneration for services
         performed for the Stock Trust. The trustees are required to distribute
         all Stock 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 Stock Trust have
         been paid by the Company, and cash dividends payable to the Stock Trust
         have been paid by the Company directly to the employees and former
         employees who own units (unitholders). The Stock Trust distributes all
         of its income and, therefore, pays no income taxes under applicable
         income tax codes.

2.       Common Stock of the Company

         The Stock Trust is the holder of record of ninety percent of the
         Company's common stock. The Stock Trust has issued one unit for each
         share of common stock which the Stock Trust holds.

3.       Unitholders' Purchases and Sales of Units of Beneficial Interest

         Unitholders may offer to sell their units only in accordance with the
         terms and conditions of the Trust Agreement, which provides four
         classes of optionees the right to elect to purchase units offered for
         sale. The Company, as one of the optionees under the Trust Agreement,
         is not obligated to purchase units, though in recent years for the
         convenience of unitholders, it has elected to do so. There is no
         assurance the Company will elect to buy units offered for sale in the
         future. Since 1996, the Company has elected to offer units owned by the
         Company for sale to eligible Company employees through a rotation
         system. On October 25, 2002, the Board of Directors of the Company
         determined to indefinitely suspend purchase and sale of units.

4.       Common Stock Held and Trust Certificates Outstanding

         At September 30, 2002 and 2001, the Stock Trust held 25,920,000 shares
         of the Company's common stock and has issued a like number of units of
         beneficial interest.



                                       6
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                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS
OF OPERATIONS

Income is based solely on dividends from Journal Communications, Inc.

ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK

None.

ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

The Stock Trust carried out an evaluation, within 90 days prior to the filing
date of this report, under the supervision and with the participation of certain
of the Trustees of the Stock Trust, of the effectiveness of the design and
operation of the Stock Trust's disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(c) and 15d-14(c). Based on that evaluation, they
concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure
that information required to be disclosed in the Stock Trust's Exchange Act
reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods
specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules and forms, and that
such information is accumulated and communicated to them to allow timely
decisions regarding required disclosure.

There have been no significant changes in the Stock Trust's internal controls or
in other factors that could significantly affect these controls subsequent to
the date of their evaluation.


                           PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 1 - LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

None.

ITEM 2 - CHANGES IN SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

None.

ITEM 3 - DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES

None.

ITEM 4 - SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS

None.


                                       7

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                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST

ITEM 5 - OTHER INFORMATION

The primary business of the Stock Trust is being the holder of record of certain
shares of common stock of the Company, the issuance of, record keeping and
transactions in units that represent shares of common stock of the Company owned
by the Stock Trust, voting (including issuance and tabulation of unitholder
proxies) of the common stock of the Company owned by the Stock Trust, and such
other matters as are specified in the Trust Agreement. The Company files annual,
quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other information with the
SEC, some of which contain information about the Company and its operations. SEC
filings of the Company are available to the public over the Internet at the
SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov. You may read and copy any filed document
at the SEC's public reference rooms in Washington, D.C. at 450 Fifth Street,
N.W., Judiciary Plaza, Washington, D.C. 20549, and at the SEC's regional offices
in New York, New York and Chicago, Illinois.

ITEM 6 - EXHIBITS AND REPORTS ON FORM 8-K

a)   Exhibits

              99.1 Written Statement of the Trustee (Steven J. Smith) with
     respect to compliance with Section 13(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act
     of 1934.

              99.2 Written Statement of the Trustee (Paul M. Bonaiuto) with
     respect to compliance with Section 13(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act
     of 1934.

b)   Reports on Form 8-K

     The Stock Trust did not file any report on Form 8-K during the period
     covered by this quarterly report.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.


Date:    November 14, 2002                        By:   /s/ Steven J. Smith
                                                        -----------------------
                                                        Steven J. Smith
                                                        Trustee

Date:    November 14, 2002                        By:   /s/ Paul M. Bonaiuto
                                                        -----------------------
                                                        Paul M. Bonaiuto
                                                        Trustee



                                       8
<PAGE>
                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST

CERTIFICATIONS

I, Steven J. Smith, certify that:

1.   I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Journal Employees
     Stock Trust;

2.   Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any untrue
     statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to
     make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
     statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by
     this quarterly report;

3.   Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
     information included in this quarterly report, fairly present in all
     material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash
     flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
     quarterly report;

4.   The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for
     establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined
     in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant and we have:

     a)  designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that
         material information relating to the registrant, including its
         consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
         entities, particularly during the period in which this quarterly report
         is being prepared;

     b)  evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and
         procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this
         quarterly report (the "Evaluation Date); and

     c)  presented in this quarterly report our conclusions about the
         effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on our
         evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;

5.   The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on
     our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and the
     registrant's trustees:

     a)  all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal
         controls which could adversely affect the registrant's ability to
         record, process, summarize and report financial data and have
         identified for the registrant's auditors any material weaknesses in
         internal controls; and

     b)  any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
         employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
         controls; and

6.   The registrant's other certifying officers and I have indicated in this
     quarterly report whether or not there were significant changes in internal
     controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal
     controls subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation, including
     any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material
     weaknesses.

Date  November 14, 2002                      /s/ Steven J. Smith
      -----------------                      ---------------------
                                             Steven J. Smith
                                             Trustee


                                       9
<PAGE>
                         JOURNAL EMPLOYEES' STOCK TRUST

I, Paul M. Bonaiuto, certify that:

1.   I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Journal Employees
     Stock Trust;

2.   Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any untrue
     statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to
     make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
     statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by
     this quarterly report;

3.   Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
     information included in this quarterly report, fairly present in all
     material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash
     flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
     quarterly report;

4.   The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for
     establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined
     in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant and we have:

     a)  designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that
         material information relating to the registrant, including its
         consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
         entities, particularly during the period in which this quarterly report
         is being prepared;

     b)  evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and
         procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this
         quarterly report (the "Evaluation Date); and

     c)  presented in this quarterly report our conclusions about the
         effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on our
         evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;

5.   The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on
     our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and the
     registrant's trustees:

     a)  all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal
         controls which could adversely affect the registrant's ability to
         record, process, summarize and report financial data and have
         identified for the registrant's auditors any material weaknesses in
         internal controls; and

     b)  any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
         employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
         controls; and

6.   The registrant's other certifying officers and I have indicated in this
     quarterly report whether or not there were significant changes in internal
     controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal
     controls subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation, including
     any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material
     weaknesses.

Date  November 14, 2002                                /s/ Paul M. Bonaiuto
      -----------------                                --------------------
                                                       Paul M. Bonaiuto
                                                       Trustee

                                       10