CJR: The Economist’s Success Is Not a Marketing Story
Tuesday, 10 August 2010, 14:22
"Let me stand up for the journalists here: Most people read The Economist because it’s a great magazine and the single best place to keep up on what’s going on in the world. They don’t read it because it’s been cleverly marketed to them."
New York Times: The Economist Markets to the Sophisticated
Monday, 9 August 2010, 18:29
"A standout among its less successful peers in the shrinking world of weekly news magazines, the true genius of The Economist, in fact, may have as much to do with its marketing as with its authoritative and often sardonic tone on exotic subjects"
FT.com: Economist eyes social network cash boost
Monday, 21 December 2009, 07:54
"The Economist newspaper plans to acquire 500,000 fans on Facebook and 750,000 followers on Twitter within six months … Readers of The Economist’s website will soon be able to log in and make comments using their Facebook identity, through Facebook Connect. … The Economist’s discussion forums will remain free. “People aren’t accustomed to being charged for conversation,” [Economist publisher Ben Edwards] said."
Independent: British press split in two by Wapping’s great gamble
Monday, 23 November 2009, 06:58
Great summary of the state of the paywall debate among UK national newspapers by Ian Burrell. Emily Bell of the Guardian: "This is not about newspaper publishing, this is about news, content and analysis on the internet and as long as you keep making the category error that says newspaper publishers are different you won’t make any progress."
Media Guardian: Economist launches single copy subscription service
Tuesday, 11 August 2009, 23:18
"The Economist has launched a single copy subscription service that allows readers to order just one copy of the magazine for home delivery the next day. .. online or via text message … The magazine eventually aims to make the service available via Facebook and Twitter."
The Atlantic: The Newsweekly’s Last Stand
Wednesday, 17 June 2009, 19:29
"The Economist prides itself on cleverly distilling the world into a reasonably compact survey. Another word for this is blogging, or at least what blogging might be after it matures—meaning, after it transcends its current status as a free-fire zone and settles into a more comprehensive system of gathering and presenting information. As a result, although its self-marketing subtly sells a kind of sleek, mid-last-century Concorde-flying sangfroid, The Economist has reached its current level of influence and importance because it is, in every sense of the word, a true global digest for an age when the amount of undigested, undigestible information online continues to metastasize. And that’s a very good place to be in 2009. … Tellingly, the very lo-fi digest The Week, which has copped The Economist’s attitude without any real reporting or analysis at all, is thriving as well."
FT.com: Newsweek to turn new page with relaunch
Saturday, 18 April 2009, 10:20
"A prototype of the redesign that will be launched in early May is a cleaner take on the old, with more white space and bolder photographs. The launch will coincide with a relaunch of Newsweek.com that will replace wire copy with links to the best sources of online news, even if published by rivals. … Newsweek intends to court a high-end audience seeking in-depth commentary and reporting."
García Media: Elite newspapers, free newspapers: the future lies somewhere here
Saturday, 11 October 2008, 13:00
Mario Garcia: "We have often mentioned in this blog that we believe the printed newspaper of the future will be published less often than daily … We have also heralded the rapid growth of free newspapers worldwide … Of course, a strong online edition is a vital requirement. The newspaper of the future—elite or free—is simply a companion to a robust and newsy online edition."
Monday, 24 March 2008, 12:23
0
Nicolas Kayser-Bril had developed some interesting cartograms that visualise a content analysis of global news coverage patterns at various newspapers, including the Daily Mail, Guardian and Economist – and the blogosphere.
Sunday, 6 January 2008, 10:41
0
"As newspaper readership stagnates in the US and Europe, India’s newspapers are enjoying the kind of golden age the US saw at the end of the 19th century. These prospects are luring in international groups."
Wednesday, 12 December 2007, 08:13
0
"Ever since the NYTimes.com swept away the last remaining boulders of its subscription pay wall … in mid-September, its traffic has been going through the roof. According to comScore, it gained 7.5 million readers worldwide …"
Friday, 21 September 2007, 09:57
1
"The Economist Group is using the power of the blogosphere to build ‘buzz’ for its political stories before they are published."
Tuesday, 7 August 2007, 17:57
0
The Economist’s audio edition "is revolutionary because of the way it undermines radio. … What "iPod News Radio" in this form does is make radio into a something that feels like a newspaper."
Wednesday, 1 August 2007, 08:57
0
Jeff Jarvis: "I would have thrown another requirement on Project Red Stripe or any media company’s innovation incubator: that they start a sustainable — that is, profitable — business."
