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The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by "The Economist Newspaper Ltd" and edited in London. It has been in continuous publication since James Wilson established it in September 1843. As of summer 2007, its average circulation tops 1.2 million copies a week, about half of which are sold in North America.[1] Consequently it is often seen as a transatlantic (as opposed to solely British) news source.
The aim of The Economist is "to take part in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress."[2] Subjects covered include international news, economics, politics, business, finance, science, technology, and the arts. The publication targets an educated readership and counts among its audience influential business and government decision-makers.[3]
It takes a strongly argued editorial stance on many issues, especially its support for free trade and economic liberalism. It therefore practices advocacy journalism.
Although The Economist calls itself a newspaper and refers to its staff as correspondents, it is printed in magazine form on glossy paper, like a newsmagazine.
The Economist belongs to The Economist Group. The publication interests of the group include the CFO brand family as well as the annual World in..., the lifestyle quarterly Intelligent Life, European Voice and Roll Call (known as "the Newspaper of Capitol Hill"). Another part of the group is The Economist Intelligence Unit, a research and advisory company providing country, industry and management analysis worldwide. Since 1928, half the shares of The Economist Group have been owned by the Financial Times, a subsidiary of Pearson PLC, and the other half by a group of independent shareholders, including many members of the staff. A board of trustees formally appoints the editor and without their permission she or he cannot be removed.
Features
The Economist's primary focus is world news, politics and business, but it also runs regular sections on science and technology as well as books and the arts. Every two weeks, the newspaper includes, as an additional section, an in-depth special report of a particular business issue, business sector or geographical region. Every three months, The Economist publishes a technology report called Technology Quarterly or TQ.
Articles often take a definite editorial stance and almost never carry a byline. Not even the name of the editor (from 2006, John Micklethwait) is printed in the issue. It is a longstanding tradition that an editor's only signed article during his tenure is written on the occasion of his departure from the position. The author of a piece is named in certain circumstances: when notable persons are invited to contribute opinion pieces; when Economist writers compile special reports; and to highlight a potential conflict of interest over a book review. The names of Economist editors and correspondents can be located, however, via the media directory pages of the website.
The newspaper has a trademark tight writing style that is famous for putting a maximum amount of information into a minimum of column inches.[4] Since 1995, The Economist has published one obituary every week, of a significant person, not necessarily famous, from any field of endeavour.
The Economist is known for its Big Mac Index, which uses the price of a Big Mac hamburger sold by McDonald's in different countries as an informal measure of the purchasing power of currencies. While whimsical, exchange rates in Western countries have been more likely to adjust to the Big Mac index than vice-versa.[citation needed]
Each opinion column in the newspaper is devoted to a particular area of interest. The names of these columns reflect the topic they concentrate on:
Two other regular columns are:
- Face Value: about prominent people in the business world.
- Economics Focus: a general economics column, frequently based on academic research.
The magazine goes to press on Thursdays, is available online from Thursday between 6 and 7pm GMT, and is available on newsstands in many countries the next day. It is printed at seven sites around the world.
The Economist newspaper sponsors yearly "Innovation Awards", in the categories of bioscience, computing and communications, energy and the environment, social and economic innovation, business-process innovation, consumer products, and a special “no boundaries” category. It also sponsors a writing award.
The Economist also produces the annual The World in [Year] publication.
Editors
The editors of the Economist have been:
- James Wilson 1843–1857 (Herbert Spencer was sub-editor from 1848 to 1853)
- Richard Holt Hutton 1857–1861[5]
- Walter Bagehot, 1861–1877[6]
- Daniel Conner Lathbury, 1877–1881[7]
- R. H. I. Palgrave, 1877–1883
- Edward Johnstone, 1883–1907[8]
- F. W. Hirst, 1907–1916
- Hartley Withers, 1916–1921
- Sir Walter Layton, 1922–1938
- Geoffrey Crowther, 1938–1956
- Donald Tyerman, 1956–1965
- Sir Alastair Burnet, 1965–1974
- Andrew Knight, 1974–1986
- Rupert Pennant-Rea, 1986–1993
- Bill Emmott, 1993–2006
- John Micklethwait, 2006–present
History
The August 5, 1843 prospectus for the newspaper, enumerated thirteen areas of coverage that its editors wanted the newspaper to focus on:[9]
- Original leading articles, in which free-trade principles will be most rigidly applied to all the important questions of the day.
- Articles relating to some practical, commercial, agricultural, or foreign topic of passing interest, such as foreign treaties.
- An article on the elementary principles of political economy, applied to practical experience, covering the laws related to prices, wages, rent, exchange, revenue, and taxes.
- Parliamentary reports, with particular focus on commerce, agriculture, and free trade.
- Reports and accounts of popular movements advocating free trade.
- General news from the Court, the Metropolis, the Provinces, Scotland, and Ireland.
- Commercial topics such as changes in fiscal regulations, the state and prospects of the markets, imports and exports, foreign news, the state of the manufacturing districts, notices of important new mechanical improvements, shipping news, the money market, and the progress of railways and public companies.
- Agricultural topics, including the application of geology and chemistry; notices of new and improved implements, state of crops, markets, prices, foreign markets and prices converted into English money; from time to time, in some detail, the plans pursued in Belgium, Switzerland, and other well-cultivated countries.
- Colonial and foreign topics, including trade, produce, political and fiscal changes, and other matters, including exposés on the evils of restriction and protection, and the advantages of free intercourse and trade.
- Law reports, confined chiefly to areas important to commerce, manufacturing, and agriculture.
- Books, confined chiefly, but not so exclusively, to commerce, manufacturing, and agriculture, and including all treatises on political economy, finance, or taxation.
- A commercial gazette, with prices and statistics of the week.
- Correspondence and inquiries from the newspaper's readers.
In 1845 during Railway Mania, The Economist changed its name to The Economist, Weekly Commercial Times, Bankers' Gazette, and Railway Monitor. A Political, Literary and General Newspaper.[10]
Opinions
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When the newspaper was founded, the term "economism" denoted what would today be termed fiscal conservatism in the United States, or economic liberalism in the rest of the world (and historically in the United States as well). The Economist generally supports free markets and opposes socialism. It is in favour of globalisation and free immigration. Economic liberalism is generally associated with the right, but is now favoured by some traditionally left-wing parties. It also supports social liberalism, which is often seen as left-wing, especially in the United States. This contrast derives in part from The Economist's roots in classical liberalism, disfavouring government interference in either social or economic activity. According to former editor Bill Emmott, "the Economist's philosophy has always been liberal, not conservative."[11] However, the views taken by individual contributors are quite diverse.
The Economist has endorsed both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party in recent British elections, and both Republican and Democratic candidates in the United States.
A history of The Economist by the editors of Economist.com puts it this way:
What, besides free trade and free markets, does The Economist believe in? "It is to the Radicals that The Economist still likes to think of itself as belonging. The extreme centre is the paper's historical position." That is as true today as when former Economist editor Geoffrey Crowther said it in 1955. The Economist considers itself the enemy of privilege, pomposity and predictability. It has backed conservatives such as Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. It has supported the Americans in Vietnam. But it has also endorsed Harold Wilson and Bill Clinton, and espoused a variety of liberal causes: opposing capital punishment from its earliest days, while favouring penal reform and decolonisation, as well as—more recently—gun control and gay marriage.
– [12]
The Economist has frequently criticised figures and countries deemed corrupt or dishonest. In recent years, for example, it has been critical of World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's former Prime Minister (who dubbed it The Ecommunist[13]); Laurent Kabila, the late president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and Robert Mugabe, the head of government in Zimbabwe. The Economist also called for Bill Clinton's impeachment and later for Donald Rumsfeld's resignation after the emergence of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse.[14] Although The Economist supported George W. Bush's election campaign in 2000[citation needed] and as of January 2007 maintains vocal support for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq (but criticized the "almost criminal negligence" of the Bush Administration’s handling of the war),[15] the editors backed John Kerry in the 2004 election.[16][17]. The paper has also supported some left-wing issues[citation needed] such as progressive taxation, criticizing the U.S. tax model in a recent issue, and seems to support some government regulation on health issues (such as smoking in public areas) and income inequality (higher taxes for the wealthy), as long as it is done lightly. The Economist consistently favours guest worker programmes and amnesties especially in 2006 when one article was titled "Sense not Sensenbrenner."[18]
Tone and voice
The Economist does not print by-lines identifying the authors of articles other than survey articles and articles written by outsiders "By Invitation". In their own words: "It is written anonymously, because it is a paper whose collective voice and personality matter more than the identities of individual journalists."[19] Where needed, references to the author within the article are made as "your correspondent." Rare exceptions to this rule occur where there might otherwise be a conflict of interest such as when reviewing a book written by someone connected with The Economist. Retiring editors are permitted one signed article, too.
The editorial staff enforces a strictly uniform voice throughout the magazine.[20] As a result, most articles read as though they were written by a single author, displaying dry, understated wit, and precise use of language.[21][22] The newspaper's popular style guide, often similarly dry and punchy, is published in print and online. [3]
The paper's treatment of economics presumes a working familiarity with fundamental concepts of classical economics. For instance, it does not explain terms like invisible hand, macroeconomics, or demand curve, and may take just six or seven words to explain the theory of comparative advantage. However, articles involving economics do not presume any formal training on the part of the reader, and aim to be accessible to the reasonably educated and intelligent layperson. The newspaper usually does not translate short French quotes or phrases, and sentences in Ancient Greek or Latin are not uncommon. It does, however, describe the nature or business of even well-known entities; writing for example, "Goldman Sachs, an investment bank".
It strives to be well-rounded. As well as financial and economic issues, it reports on science, culture, language, literature, and art, and is careful to hire writers and editors who are well-versed in these subjects.[citation needed]
The publication displays a sense of whimsy, especially in article titles (preceded by a header that clearly indicates the subject area). Many articles include some witticism; image captions are often humorous and the letters section usually concludes with an odd or light-hearted letter. These efforts at humor have sometimes had a mixed reception. For example, the cover of the September 20, 2003 issue, headlined by a story on the Cancún WTO ministerial meeting, featured a cactus giving the middle finger.[23] Readers sent both positive and negative letters in response.[24]
Circulation
Circulation for the newspaper, audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), was over 1.2 million for the first half of 2007.[25] Sales inside North America were around 54% of the total, with sales in the UK making up 14% of the total and continental Europe 19%. The Economist claims sales, both by subscription and on newsstands, in over 200 countries.
The newspaper consciously adopts an internationalist approach and notes that over 80% of its readership is from outside the UK, its country of publication. Global sales have doubled since 1997. Of its American readers, two out of three make more than $100,000 a year.[1]
The Economist Newspaper Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Economist Group. One half of The Economist Group is owned by private shareholders, including members of the Rothschild banking family of England (Sir Evelyn de Rothschild was Chairman of the company from 1972 to 1989), and the other half by the Financial Times, a subsidiary of The Pearson Group. The editorial independence of The Economist is strictly upheld. An independent trust board, which has power to block any changes of the editor, exists to ensure this.
Letters
The Economist frequently receives letters from senior businesspeople, politicians and spokespeople for government departments, Non-Governmental Organisations and pressure-groups, but well-written or witty responses from anyone are considered, and controversial issues frequently produce a torrent of letters. For example, the survey of Corporate Social Responsibility, published January 2005, produced largely critical letters from Oxfam, the UN World Food Programme, UN Global Compact, the Chairman of BT, an ex-Director of Shell and the UK Institute of Directors.[26]. It has published a lively selection of letters on topics such as intelligent design and global warming. Many of the letters The Economist chooses to publish pull no punches in criticising its editorial stance. The father of a soldier, who had been sent to Iraq three times, demanded that The Economist apologise for supporting the war.[citation needed] After The Economist ran a critique of Amnesty International and human rights in general in its issue dated March 24, 2007, its letters page ran a vibrant reply from Amnesty, as well as several other letters in support of the organisation, including one from the head of the UN Human Rights Commission.[27] Letters published in the magazine are typically between 150 and 200 words long. Most other letters received are published online in "The Inbox".
Special features
Fortnightly, The Economist publishes special reports (previously called surveys) on a given topic—the five main categories being Countries and Regions, Business, Finance and Economics, Science and Technology, and Other. The reports consist of a series of articles in the form of summaries and analysis, and, contrary to the magazine's custom, they carry a byline. Every three months, there's a Technology Quarterly that can be thought of as a special report focusing on recent trends and developments in science and technology.
Since July 2007 [28], there has also been a complete audio edition of the magazine available 5pm London time on Fridays, the next day after the print magazine is published. It is free for subscribers and available for a fee for non-subscribers.
Censorship
Sections of The Economist criticising authoritarian regimes, such as China, are frequently removed from the newspaper by the authorities in those countries. Despite having its Asia-Pacific office in Singapore, The Economist regularly has difficulties with the Lee dynasty, having been sued successfully by them for libel on a number of occasions.[29]
On June 15, 2006 Iran banned the sale of The Economist when it published a map labelling the Persian Gulf simply as "Gulf" — a choice that derives its political significance from a claim by certain Arabs resulting in Persian Gulf naming dispute.[30]
Robert Mugabe's government in Zimbabwe went further, and imprisoned Andrew Meldrum, The Economist's correspondent there. The government charged him with violating a statute against "publishing untruth" for writing that a woman was decapitated by Mugabe supporters. The decapitation claim was retracted and allegedly fabricated by the woman's husband. The correspondent was later acquitted, only to receive a deportation order.[31]
References in popular culture
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