Origins of Newspapers Having a Food/Dining section on Wednesday?

September 12, 2007 11:21 PM

What is the basis of newspapers having a special Food/Dining Section on Wednesdays?

The one weekly section I always look forward to in the newspapers I read is the Wednesday Food/Dining section. I'd love to know what person or newspaper started this practice so that all major papers (at least for the cities I've lived in) always publish these articles and recipes on Wednesday. How did it get started that they're always on Wednesday? Was it one newspaper? Or does it go back further to an older tradition having to do with cooking or markets?

posted by gov_moonbeam to society & culture (9 comments total)

Not knowing how common a Wednesday food section is in papers other than the NY Times, I can only venture a guess. It gives you time to plan what to eat and where to eat during the weekend.
posted by HotPatatta at 11:47 PM on September 12, 2007

That's the day grocery ads come out in many areas of the US.
posted by buggzzee23 at 11:49 PM on September 12, 2007

"Wash on Monday, iron on Tuesday, mend on Wednesday, market on Thursday, clean on Friday, bake on Saturday, rest on Sunday." That's how I learned it, anyway, though there are other versions. If Thursday is a traditional market day, it makes sense for the grocery ads to come out in the previous evening's paper and mail.
posted by sculpin at 12:23 AM on September 13, 2007 [2 favorites]

Thursday or Friday editions usually have a weekend (entertainment/event) planner section so adding an additional extra section might be unfeasible.
posted by asterisk at 12:52 AM on September 13, 2007

I always thought the NYT started the Wednesday tradition (the food section in US newspapers morphed from the old Women's Pages) but I can't seem to find any corroboration of that.

I did find this interesting history of food writing in America by Molly O'Neill. It doesn't explain Wednesdays but it's worth a read.
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:16 AM on September 13, 2007

Buggzzee23 has it; it's the Wednesday coupon insert day, especially for your smaller and more local papers.
(former small-town writer and editor, here)

But why Wednesday and not any other day? I'd think it's to draw customers to your local Piggly Wiggly on a day other than a weekend, when many people would shop. A slow shopping day, or for people to restock in the middle of the week for their families.
posted by fijiwriter at 6:42 AM on September 13, 2007

The food ads and coupons appear Wednesday (Thursday in the Times Picayune and some others) because that's when the food section appears, not the other way around.
posted by CunningLinguist at 7:20 AM on September 13, 2007

The LA Times food section used to be on Thursday, but switched a long time ago.
posted by brujita at 8:44 AM on September 13, 2007

the food section in US newspapers morphed from the old Women's Pages

I always thought it was the features/life/lifestyle section that morphed from women's pages, which had recipes, society pictures and tips and tricks for traditional ladies to read while their husbands browsed sports and junior read the comics. The separate food section may have arisen from the evolution of this page, but I don't think it's a direct morphing.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 8:44 AM on September 13, 2007