Disclaimer: I have been involved in various redesign projects of The Wall Street Journal, both domestic and for Asia and Europe, since 1999. I am no longer engaged by the WSJ for any design consulting.
However, from time to time I take a look at the WSJ print edition to see how it is doing. Much to my surprise, the foundation that we as a team laid for the design of each page of The Wall Street Journal continues to stand. There is nothing revolutionary here (the real revolution was the introduction of color). But I am happy to see that whoever is designing these inside pages pays attention to detail. The pages are crafted to be visually appealing. The six-column format is followed. There are sidebars and information boxes and graphics to make getting through the text easier. I think that the team of designers I worked with on the remake of The WSJ would be proud. Hope you are reading: Joe Dizney, David Pybas, James Reyman!
This is in direct opposition to what I see in USA Today (check my blog earlier this week on the subject). So here is how The Wall Street Journal looked on Oct. 31, 2018, the same day that I also looked at USA Today.
This is the front page.
The six column grid works
The WSJ adheres to a strict six-column format, which makes the pages look more consistent.
Now take a look here and see how a four-column grid, as used by USA Today tends to make the page look grayer.
Type contrast
One of the things we put into place during the redesign was a greater contrast in the weight of headlines, as you see here.
Breaking up masses of gray
Putting a little bit of care in design of inside pages
Of related interest
The redesign of The Wall Street Journal
https://www.poynter.org/news/behind-redesign-wsj
TheMarioBlog post #2943