TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

The Atlantic’s Michael Hirschorn on why the Economist thrives while other news magazines lose readership:

True, The Economist virtually never gets scoops, and the information it does provide is available elsewhere … if you care to spend 20 hours Googling. But now that information is infinitely replicable and pervasive, original reporting will never again receive its due. The real value of The Economist lies in its smart analysis of everything it deems worth knowing—and smart packaging, which may be the last truly unique attribute in the digital age.

The Economist succeeds because they provide reporting on places and issues that others cannot cover or just are not interested in, and analysis that, although not always correct, is generally well-researched, thorough, and untainted by partisanship. Those two things are rare right now.

They also happen to know who they are and how to position themselves. They are an up-scale magazine for in-the-know political or business professionals (or just geeks) who desire a world perspective. The magazine’s design is not especially flashy, and the newsstand price is relatively high. They are not devaluing their content.

So maybe it is not so curious why the Economist succeeds — they know their niche, and they base their business on serving the niche with high quality reporting and analysis. In fact, it reminds me of a little article I wrote in April.