With the magazine industry in bad shape, newsweeklies are trying to imitate the one freakishly successful exception: The Economist. In a Vanity Fair article, Matt Pressman outlines four reasons why they can’t, using analogies like this one to explain: “The Economist is like that exotic coffee that comes from beans that have been eaten and shat out undigested by an Indonesian civet cat, and Time and Newsweek are like Starbucks — millions of people enjoy them, but it’s not a point of pride.” Pressman doesn’t mention that The Economist is the only magazine to have sent Dubner — or likely anyone — a pasty. [%comments]
Why There’s Only One Economist
TAGS: The Economist
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I’ve been reading the Economist since I was an undergrad over 25 years ago. The civet coffee analogy doesn’t work for me, because it seems to be all about rarity – whilst The Economist is readily available and, for a glossy weekly, reasonably priced. I reckon their success is more about a consistently high quality of style and content.
I’ve seen Time and Newsweek on a couple of occasions and they read like children’s comics in comparison to The Economist. And I’m not sure why anyone would want to read Vanity Fair.
I’m glad the Economist isn’t as reliant on ad revenue, because a couple of issues in recent months have been almost completely devoid of full page ads. The New Yorker has looked about as bad, and is probably more dependent on advertising.
I agree with Nick: Time and Newsweek are like print versions of TV news.
No expensive graphic department to support, I suppose. Keeps production costs low. But, as a former employee of Time Inc. who sadly accepted the dumbness of America every time I saw the sales figures for People, I am happy to see that such an intelligent weekly can remain popular and profitable. I look forward to it’s delivery ever week.
As an economist, I used to have a soft spot in my heart for the Economist. That changed when they endorsed George W. Bush in 2000. I still like their reporting – particularly their Science and Technology section – but I have to agree with Nick Robinson, in that I no longer see them as a rarity – an island of rationality and lack of bias. I no longer subscribe, though I do pick it up in airports occasionally. And I haven’t spent a penny on either Time or Newsweek for decades, so I’ll grudgingly admit it’s still a cut above the others, and likely to survive…
The Economist is like La Colombe, Time is like Starbucks, and Newsweek is like Dunkin Donuts????
I read the economist most weeks. The thing that I notice is how often I find myself close to literally nodding with agreement at many of the conclusions they draw in their articles. They provide detailed and thoughtful analysis of current events and when with hindsight they find they got it wrong – such as on Iraq – they put up their hand and say so. Many politicians (and economists!) could learn from that.
But most importantly, The Economist’s consistent and accurate message about the benefits of free trade, embedding evidence in government policy-making, and appropriate incentive structures around environmental issues and developing economies are something that many people in influential positions around the world could learn from. It’s a pity that so few seem to have done so.
I think it is the content of the magazine that they are trying to say is rare. You can easily buy a copy, but finding another magazine like it is not so easy.
When I was in the Peace Corps, we received 3 or 4 month-old Newsweeks with our mail every time a Peace Corps vehicle would pass through town. I’d devour them in an evening. I read an Economist over the course of a week.
I’ve never paid for a Newsweek and I probably never will. It’s the journalistic equivalent of a free subway newspaper, but without the compelling local stories or sports section. While the Economist can be overly snarky and occasionally dead wrong (supporting Bush, supporting the war in Iraq, tirelessly complaining about populist backlashes against bankers’ bonuses), its articles tend to be informative and well written. This has in no way diminished my love of Dunkin Donuts coffee, a sugary neon pink and orange treat.