Magazine and newspaper reviews

Last year, we decided to treat ourselves to a large number of magazine and newspaper subscriptions to supplement our usual work-associated reading as well as give us a better idea of what's out there. At the same time, I decided to make more use of my institutional subscriptions.

Impressions so far of some the English language sources:

Economist - as with most magazines and newspapers, quality of content took a hit due to the frantic pace of reporting necessitated by Brexit and Trump This was especially true of the digital content. The print edition retained many of the magazine's traditional strengths, but both the selection of subjects as well as the viewpoints offered have been less original than usual, sometimes (or often) amounting to little more than a synthesis of better more in-depth material readily available on more focused websites and magazines. This is a fantastic value proposition--unless you've already gone through much of that material a couple of weeks or more before you encounter the synopsis in The Economist, in which case it's disappointing at best and frustrating or outright displeasing at worst. We considered canceling our subscription during Peak Trump, but quality has begun to improve and the print edition is once again an interesting and enjoyable read. Letters are interesting but quality of reader responses on the website and on social media is beyond abominable. The physical and aesthetic aspects of the print edition are as displeasing as ever, with its thin paper, tiny fonts and crowded layout etc. Nevertheless, if you only want to spend money on one single magazine, The Economist is probably still the best option available. The digital edition is visually appealing and the site redesign has, overall, been a change for the better.

Financial Times - very satisfied with the digital edition :up: For obvious reasons, the range of subjects covered is not as broad as it is in the other magazines on this list, but, within its limited range, the coverage is diverse and almost always interesting. Articles about influential and interesting reports, academic research, policy matters in many countries (understandably skewed towards the west), all presented with reasonable clarity and accuracy albeit not with the same depth as you'd find in even more specialized sources. Even opinion pieces from most contributors have generally been interesting and enjoyable to read. Their tech- and science-related coverage is a little lacking, but easy to supplement. Quality of reader comments on both the website and on social media tends to be a little higher than for many other magazines, which may reflect the focus on less polarizing issues. I have no intention of subscribing to the print edition.

WSJ - an even greater disappointment than I'd expected. WSJ has always been a reliable source of mostly uninspired but clear and accurate coverage of current affairs combined with predictable but mostly well-written opinion. Most of the tech, science, political and lifestyle features have been unoriginal but decent, while the business coverage has often been genuinely interesting. Overall, boring or not, it's always felt like a source of real journalism. These days, however, you can feel a struggle between journalistic integrity and the demands of Murdoch-ization suffusing everything. Where quality of articles once used to be fairly even, it now ranges from excellent to abysmal, with fewer articles in the former category for every month. Many of the opinion pieces could have been lifted straight from a Fox TV show--ie. worse than Fox's written content!--and the editorial writing has suffered as a consequence of having to accommodate the trolling requirements. Even in the editorials, you can see signs of the struggle, but I believe Murdoch will win this one. I can't comment on the merits of the print edition, but, if I hadn't had an institutional subscription I wouldn't pay for it as things stand today.

HBR - interesting subjects that are generally very enjoyable to explore, decent quality of writing, interesting opinion pieces and editorials that often touch on matters well suited to open discussions. Sometimes too uncritical and a little lazy when reporting research and ideas.

The New Yorker - for the most part, you won't be reading this for in-depth analysis and hard-hitting commentary. It is, however, an excellent magazine for leisurely reading. The print edition is always beautiful and a pure joy to handle. The cartoons are what they are--we love them. Articles often feel like they lack substance--they're well-written pieces about ultimately inconsequential things. But inconsequential matters can nevertheless be fun and inspiring. Every issue typically has a few stories that will be genuinely interesting to someone, but, on the flip side, every issue will also have a number of stories that will be extremely uninteresting to any given reader. We're not yet entirely sure about whether or not we'll renew our subscription, but we'll enjoy it in the meantime.

The Atlantic - clear and often thrilling writing on an incredibly broad range of subjects that I often would not have thought to read about otherwise, which is exactly what I look for in a magazine. The best aspects of this magazine represent the best of one half of classical journalism and every page exudes care and quality. Content consists mostly of stories, and, as such, many features may feel a little one-sided--told, as stories usually are, from one or a small number of perspectives--but this just makes it more interesting to explore the subject in greater detail afterwards. The choice of subjects combined with the style of writing make this a wonderful complement to The Economist.

Foreign Affairs - interesting articles, diverse perspectives, well-written, physically and visually satisfying. Heavy emphasis on opinions, which makes it a little less satisfying at times if you want your reading to be both balanced as well as solidly and clearly grounded in research. Too often, you just get one side of an intense and polarizing academic debate, and then, if you're lucky, you get to read another equally one-sided alternative viewpoint. The book reviews are pretty useful, but... too numerous.

Foreign Policy - this has been a very pleasant surprise. Much of the digital content is so-so (excellent in-depth pieces often drown in the day-to-day coverage) but the print edition is very enjoyable to read, with most articles striking a good balance between pure opinion and academic research. Interesting "human interest" pieces from around the world. Diverse group of contributors, unobtrusive editorial stance, decent quality of writing. The magazine is physically and visually pleasing, but there's a lot of wasted space. If you have access to your uni e-mail account you can probably get a very nice discount. This doesn't replace any other magazine but is also difficult to replace with any single magazine. Worth a subscription on its own merits.

MIT Technology Review - still undecided. Overall positive due to interesting subjects reported in greater detail than in many other places, but... they're not reported in much greater detail and the writing is often just not very pleasing.

Quanta Magazine - I could spend all day every day reading this. It's free, go treat yourself right now. If you don't like science you might hate this magazine, unless you like mathematics.

I've been thinking about giving Wired a shot, to avoid having to deal with the website, but finding it difficult to decide.