Reading The Economist is a very different experience from that of reading the "big three"-Time, Newsweek, and US News-for two reasons.
First, it's a British publication, written in a very British manner. It's tone can vary from flatly dry to dryly ironic to jarringly blunt. There's nothing here that one can call politically correct; the authors and editors call 'em as they see 'em.
Second, it's a serious news magazine. Each issue is packed with stories about current affairs, politics, economics, and business. There are also book and movie reviews. However, there is almost no pop culture news and absolutely none of the celebrity gossip that has begun to corrupt the "big three."
It's important to understand that reading The Economist takes some commitment of time and effort, probably at least two or three hours an issue. Every article is deeply analytical, and many stories are revisited weekly for updates. This is a NEWS magazine, not a news MAGAZINE, if that makes sense.
The issue of political bias always arises with the media. The Economist takes definite stands on nearly every issue, and those editorial stands are clearly stated and defended. However, it is at the same time scrupulously fair and balanced. That's quite a trick, but the staff pulls it off week after week.
So, if you're ready and willing to spend some time reading thoughtful, thought-provoking, in-depth analysis of the news of the world, you won't find a better news magazine than The Economist.
(You might want to buy a copy on a magazine rack somewhere and check the subscription offers on the insert cards. They're almost certain to be better than the Amazon price.)
Bill Gates once said in an interview that he reads every page of The Economist. It's no coincidence that so do a lot of other smart and influential political, business, academic and media leaders throughout the world. If you want to know everything about everything, you need to start reading this on a weekly basis.
The Economist's tightly argued and balanced expository pieces illuminate realm after realm of the world's politics, history, economics, business, finance, books, arts, science and technology. Its often lighthearted, wry tone does nothing to conceal its serious purpose and curiousity in the progression of human events.
The magazine pulls no punches and offers a range of sharp, unsentimental opinions from its well-known free market, liberal democratic perch. I myself don't often agree with The Economist's take on things (though I even more often do--there's a lot of stuff in every issue). Nonetheless, I always respect its reasoning and objectivity.
Also, regular extensive readers like Mr. Gates know well and have almost come to depend upon the magazine's more tangibly personal benefits: imagine what the absorption and consideration of so much incisive argumentation and news background on a weekly basis does to the mind! At the risk of sounding a bit far-fetched, I always feel sharper and wiser when I've been reading The Economist.
I apologize for the effusiveness of this review, but if you can't tell by now, I can't say enough great things about this magazine. Highly recommended.
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I subscribed to The Economist over a year ago after having found myself purchasing copies at some six dollars per pop at local bookstores. The price for a magazine subscription was higher than I would normally pay (some two dollars per copy was the best rate I could locate). But the in-store issues I had purchased were just so good that I found myself returning every week for the next copy, and that was turning out to be TRULY expensive. So, I made the plunge for a subscription to try it out.
I was not disappointed. The Economist has turned out for me to be without doubt one of the best magazines to which I've ever subscribed. The publication reads more like a detailed world briefing than a magazine, and its coverage of events from around the world is impressive in nearly every respect. I find that a weekly perusal of the magazine has broadened my horizons immeasurably, allowing me to learn about important people, events, and issues both within and outside the North American context. It is a publication that I look forward to reading each week, and it has shown me how very little "news" one gets by simply sitting down in front of the television (which has a significant portion of its time dedicated to running inane commercials, and the rest a playing of little "news reports" that are cycled endlessly, even over days) and assuming that what one is receiving is the sum of the news for the day. (It isn't.)
The Economist breaks up its print edition each week into geographical regions (The United States, the Americas, Europe, The Middle East and Africa, Asia, and Britain) and other topical categories (International, Business, Finance and Economics, Science and Technology, Books and Arts, Obituary, and Economic and Financial Indicators). There are also the regular weekly repeating columns, such as "The World this Week" (a summary digest of the world's news in short paragraphs). Opinion pieces each week include Charlemagne (covering issues within the European Union), Bagehot (covering Britain), Lexington (covering the United States), and Buttonwood (covering financial issues), in addition to current issues of interest (recent issues focused on Sarkozy's bid for the French Presidency, and The Economist openly supported Sarkozy, even printing one issue with Sarkozy in the place of the famous Napoleon portrait by David). In addition, the magazine regularly publishes "special features," insets to the magazine, typically some 15 pages in length, covering either a specific region of the world, a city, or a financial issue. Many of these special features are also available as individual reprints for educational use.
Most articles in The Economist are just the right length to make sitting down with the issue for half an hour a day the perfect schedule for working through the magazine in time for the next weekly issue to arrive. A web-based edition of the magazine, complete with a searchable index of articles that have appeared in the magazine over the years in addition to the current issue, is available free to all print subscribers (one must use the customer number from the print edition to create the free online account). This is a perfect magazine for daily reading.
In a day and age when publications seem to be getting dumbed-down by the minute, The Economist is a place where one can find a comprehensive review and digest of news from around the world. We don't have to agree with all the perspectives the magazine takes, but we can certainly benefit from the outstanding coverage the publication provides. Reading it each week becomes an education in itself, and due to its wide-ranging scope, I now realize that purchasing my own subscription was a truly "economical" thing to do.
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The Economist is a British weekly news and international affairs magazine which contains high quality articles on current affairs, economy, business, and some science and technology. It contains articles that cover many countries and regions of the world. The articles are often analytical in nature and do not reflect any obvious political bias despite the fact that the economist takes an argued editorial stance based on classical liberalism. The target readership is educated people in general (not just economists or business people).
The Economist also contains interesting financial data and statistics of various kinds. The economic and financial indicators are published at the end of the magazine in every issue. The statistics is often used to compare countries, economically, politically, socially, and in other respects, which is something I am personally interested in. The magazine is sold extensively in both Europe and North America. Some people in Europe consider the Economist to be "conservative" and some people in North America consider it "secular humanist". In my opinion both viewpoints are more or less correct. I used to read Newsweek, Time and the U.S. News, and I still do sometimes, however, the Economist is a more interesting magazine that is still easily accessible. Reading the Economist is for me, one of the best ways to relax.
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I would endorse everything that is said by below by J Scott Morrison. "International Record Review", while obviously based on "Gramophone" magazine (it shares the general format and some of the same reviewers), has addressed most of "Gramophone"'s egregious faults.
