Parade ( 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 . Special editions . 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 .