The Economist was one of those magazines I thought to be too business- and finance-focused to be of much interest to me. I was wrong.
My local library, The Carnegie in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, carries the magazine so I happened to glance at it one day. Then I borrowed a recent past issue. Then I continued to borrow the next editions and I continued to be impressed.
Now, I borrow The Economist as a matter of habit; it has become one of my go-to sources for the latest in-depth world news. For print media, it is some of the most internationally-informative news for a U.S.-based audience.
The North American edition is published weekly in the USA (NY) but is under London editorial control. Therefore, the magazine has British spellings, idioms, and vocabulary, such as ‘colour,’ ‘digitise,’ and ‘flat’ for apartment.
The writing style is surprisingly straight forward. There are few complex sentences with dependent clauses or semi-colons. Most sentences are simple and short. This makes for easy reading and quick skimming.
Given the magazine’s name, many of the stories are presented through an economist’s lens. Their editorial approach to economics is certainly and unabashedly biased. They favor the global economy and are pragmatic in their analyses, pro-capitalism, and generally fiscally-conservative. They seem to favor a politically-liberal use of debt and are supportive of current global financial structures, such as national central banks, the IMF, and international banking.
Their economist’s perspective on news stories has given me a whole new appreciation for the central role money, business, finances, and economics can play in issues of politics, policy, technology, culture, science, and even climate change.
The articles have a curious mix of fact-based objectivity with unapologetically-offered opinions and advocacy. Nearly every article’s last paragraph contains an editorial view of that article’s topic. Yet I get the sense that each article is carefully researched, fact-based, and responsibly reported.
They convey an honest sense of concern for the world’s condition. The writers seem to do a lot of hand wringing over what will happen next in global news. I can almost hear grandma going ‘tsk, tsk’ in some of the more-opinionated articles. It would be interesting to see research that analyzes actual outcomes compared to their predictions and worries.
While they convey confidence in their reporting and analysis, they will also print letters critical of both.
There are no by-lines on any articles, editorials, or essays. No individual’s name is associated or mentioned for attribution or publishing anywhere in the print magazine. Some articles’ authors are given symbolic names, such as Schumpeter for political business, Chaguan for China, Banyan for Asia, Lexington for US, Charlemagne for Europe, and Bartleby for business.
The Science/Technology and Culture sections are usually fascinating, well-researched, forward-thinking, and generally socially liberal. I have searched out books to read that they reviewed, such as The Magesteria by Nicholas Spencer, The Song of the Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee, Life is Hard by Kieran Setiya, and Josephine Tey’s fiction mysteries.
The print magazine has a small number of pages devoted to ads, usually one or two towards the front, and one or two towards the back. The full-page ads are usually for watches, travel, corporations advocating their social benefits, or even Public Service Ads. The quarter-page ads are usually for business-related schooling or international corporate job openings.
Overall, I can recommend The Economist to anyone who wants a global view of the news reported in a sober, ethical, earnest manner.
Some further background facts:
On the title page is this statement: ‘Published since September 1843 to take part in “a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress.”’
They have the following editorial office locations, (which can indicate some inherent bias):
- 6 in Europe, besides London
- 8 in Asia, including South Asia
- 5 in US
- 2 in The Americas
- 2 in the Middle East and Africa
The hard copy version is printed on PEFC-certified paper. Available online at economist.com
The Economist is owned by The Economist Newspaper, Limited.
Format:
- Table of Contents
- The World This Week—Politics one page and Business the second. Short paragraphs.
- Leaders—up to six articles largely editorial about latest big news.
- Letters—one page
- Briefing—Summary article on large topic, often 3 pages.
The following sections are often composed of several articles spread over several pages:
- United States
- The Americas
- Asia
- China
- Middle East and Africa
- Britain
- Europe
- International
- Business
- Finance and Economics
- Science and Technology
- Culture
- Economic and Financial Indicators—one page
- Graphic Detail—one page
- Obituary—last page
- Periodically will have a Special Report section based on internal analysis/reporting on a large topic. Recent ones have included: Video Games, Taiwan, Turkey, and Climate Change.