The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal is an American daily newspaper, founded in 1889 by Charles Dow, Edward Jones, and Charles Bergstresser. The Wall Street Journal has historically focused on business, financial, and industry news. While they have remained true to this focus, there is now a wide array of topics covered both in their print and online formats including sports, politics, technology, health, real state, and more. The Wall Street Journal works to properly label its editorial and news pieces and claims to prioritize a clear distinction between facts and opinions.

The newspaper is published six days a week in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corp. Along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal, the WSJ also releases content regularly through their website. The website offers interactive features, videos, podcasts, and blogs. The company also produces the WSJ Magazine, a monthly magazine that focuses on food, travel, fashion, design, and culture. Wall Street Journal staff have been awarded thirty-seven Pulitzer Prizes since its first in 1947. According to a survey covering the years 2018-2021, WSJ had an average circulation of almost 3.5 million.

The first edition of the Wall Street Journal was published on July 8th, 1889 by Charles Dow, Edward Jones, and Charles Bergstresser. At the time, the journal functioned solely to provide financial news, as exemplified in the original mission statement from Charles Dow:

Its object is to give fully and fairly the daily news attending the fluctuations in prices of stocks, bonds, and some classes of commodities. It will aim steadily at being a paper of news and not a paper of opinions.

The WSJ was owned by Dow Jones and Company until 1902, when it was sold to Clarence W. Barron. Dow Jones and the WSJ stayed in the possession of Barron's family until 2007, though a transfer of ownership to the Bancrofts (descendants of Barron) took place in 1928. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation bought the WSJ in 2007 for $5 billion.