Will the Economist dumb down for America?

Posted By Blake Hounshell Friday, March 7, 2008 - 11:06 AM Share

Jon Friedman, a columnist for Marketwatch, frets in a piece titled "Are you smart enough to enjoy the Economist?" that the British newsweekly will have to dumb down its content in order to reach a wide U.S. audience. And he frames it, frankly, in an insulting way:

While Time Warner's HBO is a premium cable service purchased primarily by affluent subscribers, the Economist faces a different kind of limitation on its audience size. There are only so many Americans who are -- to put it bluntly -- smart enough to enjoy its articles. So much of the U.S. media focus on the celebrity culture and present news in bite-sized portions that the Economist's content may be too meaty for a country that once celebrated a show called "Beavis and Butthead."

Clearly, Friedman has never read the British press.

EXPLORE:NORTH AMERICA, BUSINESS, MEDIA
 

HAGGAI

11:08 AM ET

March 7, 2008

Paging Charlotte Allen

Maybe Friedman and Allen can have a Point-Counterpoint on which group of people is dumber: women, or Americans? That debate might not be sophisticated enough for The Economist, but I hear the Washington Post is into that sort of thing these days.

 

DELLIS

11:31 AM ET

March 7, 2008

Disagree

I love the Economist. It is my favorite magazine. The problem is that it is way too expensive. If they lowered the price to $1 an issue, I would subscribe.

 

TALLYHOO

11:37 AM ET

March 7, 2008

MartchWATCH...

not Marketplace.

 

BLAKE HOUNSHELL

11:47 AM ET

March 7, 2008

thanks!

Appreciate the catch.

 

JOSHUA.FOUST

11:39 AM ET

March 7, 2008

"Are you smart enough?"

I think a more appropriate question is: are you smart enough NOT to enjoy the Economist? At least in their coverage of the former Soviet Union and Central and South Asia, the writing is often inaccurate, prone to stereotype and hyperbole, and internally inconsistent.

Then again, as you alluded, it is British.

 

DURF

11:50 AM ET

March 7, 2008

huh huh huh huh huh... Good

huh huh huh huh huh...

Good thing we've been mindlessly following the Brits on all foreign policy decisions for the last 10 years.

 

GKDUBS

12:37 PM ET

March 7, 2008

Fan of the Economist

Though I don't necessarily agree with Friedman's pejorative rhetoric about the U.S., I agree with the substance of his argument - that the Economist is the most erudite and worldly news weekly available in the U.S. these days. As previously strong weeklies like BusinessWeek eschew substance for style in a race to make themselves more and more irrelevant, the Economist is a refreshing alternative.

 

53X19

1:34 PM ET

March 7, 2008

Friedman has it wrong

I've seen every Beavis and Butthead episode at least 15 times and subscribe to The Economist. One can't always be "on".

 

KOGNISHUN

1:59 PM ET

March 7, 2008

Are Americans too dumb to enjoy the Economist

I agree with the respondent who says that the Economist is often laden with ethnocentricities and stereotypes, though I do find it very interesting and informative. I think Sp!ked magazine is the the Economist's younger, edgier counterpart.

Kognishun

 

CONSUL-AT-ARMS

2:41 PM ET

March 7, 2008

circulation limitations

The question should really be whether the United Kingdom circulation of The Economist is unfairly limited by Britain's shrinking English-speaking population. With a total population of 300 million, the U.S. circulation market for The Economist will be limited more by its inherent qualities than any failings of its intended audience.

Does Mr. Friedman manage the New York Times? It's that same mentality "our readership isn't good enough for us!" that is resulting in an imploding circulation.

 

RSPORTER

3:15 PM ET

March 7, 2008

Yes of course. This comes

Yes of course. This comes from the country whose best selling paper is News of the World. One of their current features is "Top 10 Celeb Boob Jobs".

 

DENMADRID

3:38 PM ET

March 7, 2008

The eco-No needs to smart up!

Their analysis is not only cliched and unfounded, but truly nasty in derogatory insults to the countries that do not tow the neoliberal-neocon line, which only benefits the economic elites in the UK....

They couldn't pay me to read it, nor Friedman.

 

SAMUELWU

4:13 PM ET

March 7, 2008

The Economist

Don't change the Economist! It is one of the few magazines with substance and clear, concise writing. I look forward to reading it on a weekly basis and being informed on international affairs.

 

YOUNGHUSBAND

8:33 PM ET

March 7, 2008

Half of The Economist

Half of The Economist circulation (total 1M/week) is in North America. Only 15% of the circ is in the UK. Sounds like they don't have to dumb down to be a success.

http://cominganarchy.com

 

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