Why The Economist is the best magazine ever

Joshua Stein writes Saturday on Gawker seven reasons why The Economist is the best magazine.

Here are a few:

• Reading The Economist makes you look smart: Anecdotal evidence points to a high incidence of on subway interactions amongst Economist readers in which fellow commuters either nod approvingly upon eye contact or initiate conversation. Sometimes aforementioned conversation includes, “I heard people only read The Economist to look smart,” but also sometimes concludes, “You look smart.”
• Reading The Economist makes you smart: The Economist is a weekly news magazine that avoids the insecure magazine trend found in Time, Newsweek et al of presenting information in graphically driven gotcha tidbits. Instead of simply a lede and a joke and cutting out—a formula borrowed from blogs where it works well and belongs—The Economist gives a sobering if visually unexciting take on the world’s events.
• No Bylines If you’re like me, you hate Joel Stein. There’s no Joel Stein at The Economist. In fact, it’s written entirely without bylines. The voice is consistent and there are no egos vying for recognition. Or at least none that bubble through to the readers.

Read more here.