MEDIA MONDAY / RESPONSIBLE JOURNALS / THE ECONOMIST / First in an occasional series

Example of a cover of the weekly print news magazine, The Economist

First in a Series. By Thomas Shess, Founder North Park News and the daily magazine-style general interest blog called PillartoPost.org--When I first began a community monthly newspaper (North Park News, in San Diego) my fervent hope was for it to gain acceptance and last at least to the end of the year. 

With a series of owners over the years, I’m overjoyed the feisty newspaper is now in its 31st year of continuous publication. My experience, however, pales in comparison to the success of James Wilson, who founded Britain’s The Economist. 

James Wilson, circa 1843

Wilson, a hatmaker from Scotland, founded his newspaper in September, 1843 to argue against Britain’s Corn Laws, which imposed punitive tariffs on grain. 

 Published since 1843 to take part in “a severe contest between invelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy…ignorance obstructing our progress.” 

 I would have loved to be a proverbial fly on the wall when Wilson first issue arrived from the printer a mere 175 years ago. Did he believe then that The Economist would go on to become one of the most respected journals in the world. 

 Today, Wilson’s entity has grown to be called The Economist Group, a media company headquartered in London, England. It is best known for the aforementioned The Economist newspaper and more recently its sister lifestyle magazine, 1843. 

The group specializes in international business and world affairs information. Here’s a bit more about The Economist: Over time, the newspaper has helped readers grasp the great drivers of change, from technology to geopolitics, finance, and economics. 

Recent cover

It added a dedicated section on the United States in 1942 and a China section in 2012. It expanded successfully into North America, which became its largest market. To serve decision-makers in businesses and beyond, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) became a leader in country analysis and forecasting. Live events around the world brought global thought leaders together to discuss critical topics at roundtables and summits. In recent years, the great change has been digital. The EIU started to deliver a timely stream of business intelligence and data. 

The Economist expanded its journalism online, onto its app and into podcasts, films, interactive infographics and social media. Economist Education began online executive courses, and Economist Impact grew, combining the reach and rigor of a think-tank with the creativity of a media brand to engage influential stakeholders and find new ways to pursue progress. In addition to The Economist’s weekly print and digital editions and website, The Economist publishes Espresso, a daily news app, and Global Business Review, a bilingual English-Chinese product. 

It also produces The Intelligence, a daily current affairs podcast, five weekly podcasts, 11 newsletters and short- and long-form videos. The Economist has recently joined TikTok and maintains robust social communities on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and other social networks. 

 A recent expansion has linked The Economist with The Mint, a popular business and financial daily based in India. HT Media Ltd, publisher of Mint, and The Economist Group (UK), publisher of The Economist, have entered into a multi-year partnership to bundle their premium business subscriptions. 

The agreement will allow Mint’s premium subscribers to access The Economist’s world-renowned global analysis and will allow The Economist to tap into Mint’s growing subscriber base. Mint is India’s premier business and financial daily, known among decision-makers for its reportage, views, and analysis. 

In November 2022 it became the number one visited business news platform with 39 million monthly unique visitors, 146 million monthly pageviews, and 1.3 million mobile app users according to Comscore. 

Mint was first launched as a business newspaper in 2007 in an exclusive content partnership with The Wall Street Journal, published by Dow Jones Inc. Mint continues to remain India's second-largest financial daily with a single national edition distributed across India's top nine cities. The last recorded total readership of its print edition, as per the Indian Readership Survey, is 600,000 (IRS 2019 Q4). Mint launched its premium offering for digital subscribers in March 2020, making it one of the earliest mainstream news brands from India to launch paywalled content. 

 How to subscribe to The Economist. Click here. 

First issue of The Economist