DumbOrator retweetet
In 1973, The Economist was on the frontlines to prepare international opinion against Salvador Allende, Chile's democratically elected President, and in favour of a military coup. Ahead of the coup in September, Chile's Generals bought thousands of copies of the magazine and distributed them. Even when the La Moneda Palace in Santiago was surrounded by troops, Allende vowed not to surrender or resign. When news of Allende’s death reached London, Robert Moss, an editorial writer and correspondent of The Economist who was writing about Chile, danced down the corridors of the magazine's office, chanting, “My enemy is dead!”
Whenever there is a discussion about The Economist, this episode comes to my mind--it captures what the magazine really is. They write good English, and I occasionally read them--for both style and numbers. But beyond that, as you may know, I have never been much of a fan--not because of their opinionated journalism (we all have a view), but primarily because of their Orientalist depiction of the East, which I find hard to digest. And I also find some of their covers too silly, with a very short shelf life. Look at their coverage of the war on Iran for instance. It was 'a stunning aerial success' in the early days, but 'operation blind fury' in the third week.
English
