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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 1981)
ter s and THE BATTALION Page 5B WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 1981 n irculation of English wwspaper challenges Jnited States weeklies al emerges,“Flj Another' zy. United Press International to make ope ONDON — Although it com- ;ntjumptoaj; ut weekly, the Economist of mds is easy t don staunchly calls itself a oice-actuated) sP a P er rat her than a maga- same asthefc ■ tan said. nat is partly because, as editor dit as well b rew Knight put it, “We do try )ice actuation' efrightfully topical.” - said. he Economist eschews the fri- asing the sysla usl)utoften manages to put inted with || ss hard facts with a talent to Fleischmanm ,. , . , , . , -art by speak, ™ althou 8 h lt 1S relatively 'is trained td H hi ^sources staff and circu- ds are records n ’ 11 15 challen g> n g the big ;c and rernenl uter. -atingrooiri the past couple of lymicrophonei irs f/, e Economist has :tor speak tht! Med (to more than nd sends ela 000) its circulation in gh existing wia States, where i said his i m prints an edition ST-ot ** O" Rlmed P a 8 es ; mostexdtedi mout from England. :al possibilitie! .i it for blind pa ey can have e ir ican newsweeklies on their • homes. Itm ,e ground with increasing suc- i and dial the; , y it the numke ] p as p C0U pl e 0 f years the ie voice sysla 10m j s p doubled (to more pecial winngj ^ j( S circulation in the died ia™ 0 *!* ed States, where it now prints said. I ™ (Jjtion based on filmed pages vade our Inti n out f rom England. Is editors admire the strengths ■ envy the resources of the rican newsweeklies, but do ntend to emulate them in a :h for the mass market. WBl jnd /e We are not interested in be- ngvery big, provided we can ;t the right kind of reader, ” Knight — age 41, and editor le past seven years — in his above St. James’s Street in leart of London. Ihe Economist sells some HOG copies in 160 countries, 12 percents ingfrom a solitary subscriber to 69,000 in the home :et, Britain. Its influence in Mrridors of power is out of exempt bene! give investor i into the stock with money® :e also point ed attractive!! lmesatati^le , g for cities is 90 early this n investor hi! every $1,1 nent, if he i or pj on to the size of its sub- arket. ition list, rawal ofspeai Jhe Economist from the m»j f or a wor l(l circulation of ab- a quarter of a million “edu- aid. That« j blo^j ” w jth perhaps he newtaxprtj po.100,000 buyers in the Un- lils the ratioiss states. 11CiP niiquidti 'ith the bulk of copies going to 4 cribers on the East coast that ... |^, ( j it should be attainable as the W1 ,, . .l« dy expands to the Southwest gotten to tt! > riple-A rated e Wesl ngtopayl2p« Ithough, as its title suggests, even at that! Economist contains a hefty ought outre® 1 wtion of economic and busi- ,n it was. information, it sets out to be a question tfe plete international newspap- ill hurt," thed is coverage ranges over scien tific developments and new books as well as politics and finance. It claims to have the attention of a greater proportion of the world’s national and business de cision-makers — including a cou ple of members of the Chinese politburo — than any other publi cation. The late Shah of Iran was a subscriber but once was quoted as saying he was “not the kind of rul er who prefers to go to bed with a copy of The Economist rather than with a woman.” In its own words, the Econom ist’s aim “is to form habits of think ing for decision makers.” Regular readers have to get used to the weekly’s somewhat pontificating style, its turn of col loquial phrase, its heavy reliance on the parenthesis and even its (sometimes ghastly) puns. In contrast with U. S. newspap er practice, The Economist does not always segregate facts from opinions. Even its own staff argue over whether it should be primari ly a newspaper or a “viewspaper.” Sourcing tends to be enigmatic, and direct quotes are few and far between. But the paper prides itself on its accuracy, its analytical insights The Economist sells some 180,000 copies in 160 countries, ranging from a solitary subscri ber in Chad to 69,000 in the home market, Bri tain. Its influence in the corridors of power is out of proportion to the size of its subscription list. and its ability to spot trends. Spe culative items and news stories that ring true but which cannot be proved to the editor’s satisfaction are published in the Economist Foreign Report, which is sold separately on a “confidential” basis. Unlike its American rivals, the Economist refuses to vary its edi torial content from region to re gion. The American and British editions are identical in every thing except advertisements and the fact the former is printed on glossy paper, which is cheaper in the United States. Knight said it is important that readers feel confident they are getting “the real thing. ” When the newspaper started printing in America earlier this year, many U. S. readers wrote to express con cern they were about to be ripped off with an “Americanized” edi tion, but that fear was unfounded. Some readers here have com plained that the amount of atten tion devoted to British affairs is declining. In fact, Knight said, the newspaper publishes more British news than it did 10 years ago. But he agreed the overall emphasis has shifted in favor of international coverage. The readership balance has be come more international, too. Six ty percent of the copies are sold abroad and 40 percent in Britain. A decade ago the proportion was 50-50. Although half owned by the Financial Times, The Economist is fiercely independent. The edi- In its own words, the Economist’s aim “is to form habits of thinking for decision makers. ” tor is appointed by separate trus tees whose votes outweigh all others at company general meet ings. Rivals often are surprised to learn that The Economist has a slender editorial staff of about 75, including a dozen foreign corres pondents, some 40 editors and writers in London and an excel lent team of graphic artists. It re lies heavily on “stringers,” several of whom are people of political or economic consequence in their own countries. The work of polishing copy reaches a climax on Wednesday nights, but late news can be in cluded right up to the time the newspaper goes to bed at teatime Thursday. It is on the streets of London and New York the follow ing morning. Unlike its American rivals. The Economist draws no distinction between writers and reporters or researchers. Here the copy edi tors are the hardest-working, highest-paid people with the most authority, usually responsible for gathering their own facts and sta tistics. T’ Editors who master the distinc tive, sometimes idiosyncratic house style get their copy into print with little or no rewriting. All articles except special surveys are published anonymously. But there is no attempt to impose style by committee. “If we did that, the Economist would be a blancmange, and I don’t think you can accuse us of being that,” said Knight, who this year won the World Press Re view’s International Editor of the Year award for, among other things, “enhancing world under standing and fostering journalistic excellence.” Irs. America contestants him contest was rigged United Press International OSANGELES —Two losers this year’s Mrs. America ant have filed a $1 million suit ist pageant officials charging ontest was rigged and officials selected the winner in adv- I hal is optimi* 1 nistratiohsts the budget® 1 if the .. ct and if in^ ictivity, the®, re going thal said. ie lesser att® mpts will lx / the pros? every in amed attorney Marvin Mitch- ifiled the Superior Court civil Monday on behalf of Denise i, 29, who competed as Mrs. tda, and Vickie Vidoni, 28, Maryland. Mrs. Vidoni said about half of the 50 contestants got together to compare notes in a Las Vegas hotel room the morning after the pageant finals April 3. She said some of the women were convinced the winner — Patty Boyd, 33, of Baton Rouge, participating as Mrs. Louisiana — had been picked before the week- long contest. In the suit filed by Mitchelson, the two women listed examples of alleged “preferential treatment” given Mrs. Boyd, noting she was the only contestant given a first- class air ticket to Las Vegas and her family was given the best seats in the auditorium. David Marmel, president of Mrs. America Pageant Inc., de nied the allegations. Mrs. Nebraska, Jillayne Gian- greco of Omaha, said several con testants told her witnesses had seen the eventual winner signing promotional contracts a day or two before the final night of the pageant. iff yste g that app 4 ' when they P 1 r emergent) aperation ven to all 10-mile # the alarm f during an : r failure ® mponents J: >f the publk COOL IT $9.99 Chick ’Nic Cooler Special 8-piece Chick ’n Pak with a family order of fries, a pint of cole slaw, 6 rolls and a Boss Bird cooler! If bought individually, cooler is $3.99. Chicken ’n rolls Expires 8-31-81 1905 Texas Ave. 693-1669 New wine size is available United Press International YOUNTVILLE, Calif. — This fall a Yountville winery will release a limited quantity of magnums — 1.5 liter bottles — of its Chandon Napa Valley Brut sparkling wine to major U.S. markets, (California, New York, Miami, Dallas-Houston, De nver and Washington D.C.). The wine is the same as that released several years ago in bottles, long since sold. Most of the grapes are from the 1977 har vest, with reserve wines from three pre vious vintages. The blend is 65 percent pinot noir, 33 percent chardonnay, and 2 percent pinot blanc. The Special Reserve magnums have been aged on the yeast longer than current ly available bottles of the wine. Edmond Maudiere, consulting enologist from the parent company, Moet and Chan don (France), says magnums are the ideal size for fermentation and bottle aging of sparkling wine, “perhaps because of the air-space-to-volume-of-wine ratio the mag num provides.” The magnums will be presented in indi vidual wooden boxes. The retail price will be about $40. ALVAREZ Alvarez guitars reflect the touch, tone, quality, and craftsmanship that you’d expect in a much more expensive in strument. Attention has been given to every detail. Quality the Pros Use, Priced Low Enough For the Beginner. KeyboARd Center Inc. 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