# Wall Street Journal

21 Hacker News commenters recommended Wall Street Journal and 28 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended for credible reporting, good writing and a balanced, center-right view. Common caveat: aggressive ads, pop-ups and an owner whose influence critics question.

## Why people recommend it

- Balanced, center-right viewpoint (6 comments): "the only true traditional conservative paper that will still call out Trump on his foolishness" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46001243)) "maintain a high quality, generally center-right news reporting division" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48130439)) "there is real impartiality both as an ideal and in practice" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47633543))
- Credible, high-quality reporting (4 comments): "WSJ still has one of the best and most credible newsrooms in the business" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49529024)) "maintain a high quality, generally center-right news reporting division" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48130439)) "WSJ reporting on toxic fumes in aircraft has been excellent." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46355770))
- Good writing and headlines (3 comments): "I also find WSJ is much better at writing good headlines that draw you in" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46892377)) "The Wall Street Journal article with no letter 'e's was brilliant." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47581012)) "covered well by good writers like Matt Levine, WSJ, and others" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46082960))

## What people warn about

- Ads, pop-ups and ad-blocker nags (4 comments): "always shows me one line of text: Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47447876)) "they are FILLED with ads/popups/videos that run automatically/dark patterns" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47617645)) "rampant sensationalism and FAKE news, along with nag screens" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48720525))
- Paywall and high long-term pricing (4 comments): "That makes it a little inconvenient for a regular reader, but serviceable to get at the occasional article." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46819435)) "the Wall Street journal pricing is pretty wild (8 dollars a month for the first 3 months then jumps to much higher)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45924097)) "That's a couple thousand dollars a year, just to have a handful of mainstream news sites." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49750857))
- Owner influence on coverage (5 comments): "It had really great long articles backed by real research before it was bought by Murdock." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50308725)) "they are very much manipulated by what their billionaire owners want you to know" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47663906)) "This isn't the case for the NYT or WSJ, which have an incentive misalignment." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46795221))
- Declining quality and credibility (4 comments): "It had really great long articles backed by real research before it was bought by Murdock." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50308725)) "The WSJ effectively became a lifestyle tabloid. Its devolution has been shocking." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46793357)) "wsj-slop website that recycles the same logic over and over again" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48836101))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Economist](https://hackerapproved.com/p/economist.md): 87 recommend
- [New York Times subscription](https://hackerapproved.com/p/new-york-times.md): 68 recommend
- [Apple News](https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-news.md): 29 recommend
- [The Atlantic magazine subscription](https://hackerapproved.com/p/atlantic.md): 21 recommend
- [Wired magazine](https://hackerapproved.com/p/wired.md): 11 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Wall Street Journal", https://hackerapproved.com/p/wall-street-journal/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).