REVIEW OF THE ECONOMIST
By Maile Cannon
October 10, 2008
Spoofy newspaper, the Onion, described the kind of
person who reads The Economist in its April 7, 2002,
“Point/Counterpoint” column. It went something like this:
Point: “I read in the Economist that...”
Counterpoint:
“Eeeeeuuuuuuuwwwww! The
Economist says! The Economist
says! I read The Economist!
Aren't I cool? On weekends, I like
to sit out on my porch in my
wicker chair with my bifocals and
my subscription copy of The
Economist. Then, when I go to a
professor's wine-and-cheese party
later that night, I can casually
mention all the fancy stuff I read
about NASA and Venezuela and
Gen. Pervez Musharraf in my
fancy magazine and impress
everybody.
Touché.
But regardless of how silly, the comment is
stingingly accurate. According to the publication, the
average annual income of an Economist reader is $175,000.
Almost half its readers are senior management, and two out
of five are company directors or higher. Eighty-five percent
of its distribution comes from subscriptions and the average
subscriber remains loyal for more than eight years. More
than 90 percent of readers say they read the weekly edition
at home—they did not mention a preference for wicker—
and more than half read it as soon as they get it, which is
usually Friday.
Economist readers also enjoy the finer things in life:
70 percent say they talk about restaurants and wine with
their friends, and at least 40 percent “believe they can
convince others of their opinions about these topics.” It
seems likely indeed that the people who read The
Economist do enjoy a nice, moldy Bleu d'Auvergne with nip
of Côtes du Rhône.
The only stereotype neglected in The Onion is the
gender of the typical Economist reader—it is usually a he.
Worldwide, 87 percent of readers are male.
Everything about the publication has been tailored
to this high-flying demographic, including the advertising.
DHL beckons managers to use their corporate services. Air
China entices business class passengers with seats that fold
out into something almost resembling a bed. Landrover
seduces gentlemen adventurers with the “soft, supple skin”
of all leather interiors.
The jobs listings are notable, also. The World Bank
is looking for a lead economist. The United Nations is
hiring for a mission in Sudan. Cambridge University needs
an economics lecturer.
The magazine is 8 in. x 10 in. and each copy runs
about 100 thin pages. It fits neatly between a stack of files,
or tucks nicely into the slim pocket of a briefcase or lap-top
carrier. It can also be folded in half or rolled, and stuffed
under an arm, without compromising its integrity.
More than 1.3 million people throughout the world
subscribe to The Economist, making a readership of 4
million, and all these people know this: The Economist is
probably the best single resource in the world for
international news (though there is plenty in it about money
and finance).
The publication, which actually calls itself a
newspaper, though it is in every way a magazine, was
started by a politically-minded Scottish hatmaker in 1843.
From there it developed, faithfully sticking to its core
mission of touting the virtures of free trade and
internationalism. Articles in The Economist are not bylined,
affording anonymity to writers who might need it (such as
elected officials in the know) and giving the editor more
power to shape each edition's overall structure.
The Economist crams every one of its pages not
dedicated to advertising (there is never advertising and
content on the same page) with three columns of text,
broken up only occasionally with small color photographs
(always with witty, snarky captions), charts or graphs, or
the odd De Chirico-inspired illustration. Long pieces are
always continued onto the following page—no jumping to
the back—and busy readers can judge the length of the
piece by a little red square that marks each article's end.
The magazine is cleanly written in plain English.
Articles go into great detail and provide readers with
thorough coverage of international politics, corporate
business and emerging markets, and they explain how
events taking place in one realm will affect operations in
another. For example, The Economist is now playing close
attention to the American elections, hypothesizing how
either candidate elected might influence the global
economy, international relations and future environmental
concerns.
The Economist is making money in a time when the
newspaper and magazine industries are fiscally
hemorrhaging. But it knows what it's doing. It knows its
readers, how to sell to them, and how to give these
demanding, time-strapped, cheese-munching types the good
news they want.