“The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country…” is a humorous list describing the readers of various newspapers. The New York (NY) Times “is read by people who think they should run the country.” The New York (NY) Post and New York (NY) Daily News have different readers entirely.
 
The newspaper readership list joke has been cited in print since at least 1994 and is of unknown authorship.
 
 
Who Reads the Newspapers
1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.
2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.
3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country.
4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don’t really understand the Washington Post. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie chart format.
5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn’t mind running the country, if they could spare the time, and if they didn’t have to leave LA to do it.
6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and they did a far superior job of it, thank you very much.
7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren’t too sure who’s running the country, and don’t really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.
8. The New York Post is read by people who don’t care who’s running the country, as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.
(...)
This was passed along to me by Gary Curtis. God knows where it came from originally.
     
Google Groups: soc.culture.iranian
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From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Date: 18 May 94 23:08:54 EST
Local: Wed, May 18 1994 11:08 pm
Subject: Re: Who reads which newspaper?
 
1. the wall street journal is read by both people who own the country and those who think they do.
2. new york times is read by people who think they run the country.
3. washington post is read by people who run the country.
4. u.s.a. today is read by people who love junk food.
nick gilani
 
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From: Vince Lamb
Date: Sat, 18 Nov 2000 07:20:24 GMT
Local: Sat, Nov 18 2000 2:20 am
Subject: OT: A humorous guide to newspapers
 
That reminds me of this list I heard on the Tom Mundt Show on NPR/Michigan Radio.
 
The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.
The Washington Post is read by the people who think they run the country.
The New York Times is read by the people who want to run the country.
USA Today is read by the people who want to run the country but don’t understand the New York Times.
The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn’t mind running the country if they could find the time.
The Boston Globe is read by people whose fathers ran the country.
The New York Post is read by people who don’t care who runs the country, so long as they produce scandalous stories to read.
 
Google Groups: misc.news.internet.discuss
Newsgroups: misc.news.internet.discuss
From: “Allan Smith”

Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 08:45:55 -0500
Local: Thurs, Feb 19 2004 8:45 am
Subject: e-Mail time - American newspapers
 
Brief Guide to American Newspapers

1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.
2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.
3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.
4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don’t really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts.
5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn’t mind running the country - if they could find the time - and if they didn’t have to leave Southern California to do it.
6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a far superior job of it, thank you very much.
7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren’t too sure who’s running the country and don’t really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.
8. The New York Post is read by people who don’t care who’s running the country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.
 
ABC News
What Do the Rich and Powerful Read?
A Look at the Once and Future Wall Street Journal
By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ
ABC NEWS Business Unit
July 28, 2007
An old joke in the newspaper world holds that The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country, The New York Times by those who think they run the country, The Washington Post by those who think they ought to run the country and The Boston Globe by people whose parents used to run the country.
 
Whether or not that is true, The Wall Street Journal does hold tremendous sway. It reaches one of the largest audiences and has some of the richest and most-powerful readers of any newspaper.