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Importance of Wall Street JournalWhy the WSJ Matters in the World of the Mainstream MediaWall Street Journal is important to the world of mass media in the United States and beyond because of much more than its acclaimed business and economic reporting.
The Wall Street Journal has become an important piece of the American mainstream journalism scene in its 118 year existence. From an early beginning as a paper strictly for business, to its current incarnation as one of the most well-read dailies in the United States, the Wall Street Journal is truly an American institution. It is for this reason that Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to take over this newspaper is of such vital importance to those who follow the mainstream media. HistoryThe Wall Street Journal was started in 1889 by Charles Dow and Edward Jones; they published this daily under the auspices of their company, Dow, Jones and Company, which had been formed in 1882. Dow and Jones were from New England, and were interested in creating a paper for Americans interested in business news. Before the Wall Street Journal, newspapers in the United States were about local issues – people read papers that were printed in their hometowns, owned by local publishers, and focused on issues important to their town, city, or region. The Wall Street Journal was different because right from the start, it aimed to be the paper of that attractive group of readers: the upwardly-mobile, business-oriented individuals who were interested in more than their immediate community. The WSJ started to publish stock indices, and other financial figure, thus aiming to be much more than a regional newspaper, right from the very beginning. In 1902, Dow and Jones sold the paper to Clarence Barron, when readership was just over the 7,000 copies a day mark. Barron continued to own the paper until his death in 1928, and the papers readership just kept growing. A Step Towards the FutureIn 1945, Bernard Kilgore took control of the WSJ, and began to institute a format for the paper which pointed it in a more modern direction. The Wall Street Journal started to focus on news, politics, and international affairs, as well as simply business news and economic trends. Kilgore not only began the policy of having international reporters and editions of the WSJ, he also made sure that his paper became the one and only important financial newspaper in the U.S. He did this by buying the Chicago Journal of Commerce in the early 1950s, thereby ensuring the dominance and strength of the WSJ in all major financial centers in North America and around the globe. Due to a strong preference for government non-interference in business policy, the Wall Street Journal became the paper of conservatives in the second half of the twentieth century (not that it was particularly liberal before this). Modern TimesIn the 21st century, the Wall Street Journal continues to get incredibly high numbers of readership, including many who are not in the so-called world of business. Including both registered online readers, and those who receive the paper on a daily basis, the Wall Street Journal has 3 million readers a day. It continues to cover both business news, affairs that affect business, and is seen as one of the credible, reliable voices in the American news media. Despite having an overt bias for conservative politics, the Wall Street Journal is still respected by those on the other side of the political spectrum for its’ in-depth reporting, highly qualified journalists, and importance in the business world.
The copyright of the article Importance of Wall Street Journal in Newspaper Journalism is owned by Kate Butler. Permission to republish Importance of Wall Street Journal in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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