Parade (magazine)


 * For other uses of the word (with different case), see Parade (disambiguation). For the British magazine for men, see Parade (British magazine).

Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 640 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.5 million and a readership of nearly 60 million. , its editor is Maggie Murphy. .

Publishing history and circulation
The magazine was started by Field Enterprises in 1941. John Hay Whitney, publisher of the New York Herald Tribune, bought Parade in 1958. Booth Newspapers purchased it in 1973. Booth was purchased by Advance Publications in 1976, and Parade became a separate operating unit within Advance.

The magazine is printed on newsprint, although usually a higher quality of newsprint than the rest of the newspapers it accompanies but of lesser quality than magazine paper.

The magazine has one main feature article, often a smaller feature article, and a number of regular columns. There is also a significant amount of advertising for consumer products, some with clipable coupons or tear-off business reply cards.

Parade Digital Partners is a distribution network that includes the web site Parade.com and nearly 600 of the magazine's partner newspaper web sites. Parade Digital Partners has a reach of nearly 50 million monthly unique visitors (comScore December 2012)

Mission statement
"Joining the right writer to the right idea, Parade consistently provides its readers with quality stories. That quality itself is defined by three elements: clarity, authority and substance. Each article must be clear in design and content and well researched and written with a voice of authority. It must also have substance, telling readers something they didn't know before and giving them an opportunity to effect change."

Publishing lag time
The magazine has a lag time to publication of about ten days. That arrangement has led the magazine to be criticized for its slow reaction to events.

The January 6, 2008 edition cover and main article asked whether Benazir Bhutto was "America's best hope against Al-Qaeda," after her December 27, 2007 assassination. In response to reader and media complaints, Parade stated on their website: "Dear Parade Readers,

Parade publishes more than 32 million copies of each issue and distributes them to 415 newspapers across the country. In order to meet our printing, distribution and insertion deadlines, we must send the issue to the printer three weeks before the cover date. Our Benazir Bhutto issue, for example, went to press on Dec. 19. By the time Ms. Bhutto was slain on Dec. 27, this issue of Parade was already printed and shipped to our partner newspapers. Recalling, reprinting and redistributing our January 6 issue was not an option."

A similar incident, albeit of a lesser scale, occurred in the February 11, 2007 issue when Walter Scott's "Personality Parade" reported that Barbaro, an American thoroughbred racehorse and winner of the 2006 Kentucky Derby, was in a stable condition. Barbaro had been euthanized on January 29, 2007.

Past and present features

 * "Ask Marilyn" by Marilyn vos Savant: Vos Savant answers questions from readers, from brainteasers to explanations of illogical customs, advice, or legitimate philosophical questions. Occasionally she will pose a brainteaser of her own or poll her readers.
 * Cartoon Parade: Panel cartoons by various creators, including Dave Coverly, Carla Ventresca, Dan Piraro, Donna Barstow, and Gary McCoy
 * "In Step With" by James Brady: Celebrity interview column which ceased after Brady's 2009 death.
 * “Intelligence Report": Your guide to health, life, money, entertainment, and more
 * Interviews have included such celebrities as Steve Carell, Jimmy Fallon, Katharine McPhee, Katy Perry and Noah Wyle.
 * Laugh Parade: Gag cartoons by Bunny Hoest and John Reiner
 * "Numbrix": Also by Marilyn vos Savant, Numbrix is a simple puzzle game in which the reader arranges the numbers 1 to 81 in a continuous path that fits into a 9×9 square grid. Numbrix was introduced in July 2008. In addition to the weekly print version, vos Savant also produces daily Numbrix puzzles for Parade's Web site.
 * "Our Towns" is a regular feature written by journalists from Parade newspaper partners.
 * "The Parade High School All-America Teams": This sports franchise highlights the best U.S. high school athletes in boys and girls basketball, football, and boys and girls soccer. In 2010, Parade introduced its All-America Service Team, which honors high-school students for commitment to service and volunteerism.
 * "Personality Parade" by Walter Scott: In Q&A sessions, celebrities often discuss some project or movie which is just about to be released.
 * "Views," an editorial column by various authors, including CNN political analyst David Gergen and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Connie Schultz.
 * "Keeping Up with Youth" (1960s-70s)

What People Earn
"What People Earn" is a yearly special issue typically in early spring.

Where America Lives
"Where America Lives" is an ongoing thematic feature.

Where America Eats
"What America Eats" is presented seasonally throughout the year.

The Giving Issue
"The Giving Issue" is typically in the issue reaching readers on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend.

The Simpsons

 * In the eighth season episode "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase," Principal Skinner works for Chief Wiggum as his private detective sidekick in New Orleans. "Skinny Boy" describes how he read about infamous crime lord "Big Daddy" in Parade.
 * In the episode "G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)," Homer Simpson joins the Army and demands a parade but is given a copy of Parade instead.
 * In the episode "Home Away from Homer," Ned Flanders says he saw his first Humble figurine (a parody of Hummel figurines) in Parade.

Other references

 * In the Family Guy movie, Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, Stewie Griffin meets his future self and is disturbed by what a loser he has become. The young Stewie is particularly surprised upon learning that his future self reads Parade.
 * In the King of the Hill episode "Grand Theft Arlen," Hank's wife Peggy describes herself as "a woman who reads Parade Magazine."
 * On Jeopardy!, a category was dedicated to a "Parade of Dictators," based on the magazine's past feature: “The World's 10 Worst Dictators.”