The Economist, On Its Own Writing Style
The Economist this week held a 60-minute webinar on the topic of its own writing style. Three editors emphasized the power of simplicity: “old, short
The Economist this week held a 60-minute webinar on the topic of its own writing style. Three editors emphasized the power of simplicity: “old, short

Launched in 1843, The Economist has been around longer than public relations itself. For those who pitch stories, it remains as daunting as Kilimanjaro. Yet many executives insist on climbing it. What is PR to do? The publication doesn’t even offer bylines.
YOUR ACCOUNT
FRIDGE NOTES
Good vision here from Jay Lauf. Interestingly, Jay suggests that B2B publishing will become a service business to B2B pros, providing value directly to individuals and organizations. Static content is dying very quickly. This is the point of the analysis from this great media organization.
America can’t read anymore. The good news: advertisers can advertise against different kinds of emotion in the copy. So even if the numbers of readers drop, there are more ways to attract ads. So perhaps the bad news will get cancelled out by the good. Sam Whitmore and David Strom discuss.
Can you imagine not needing to be a human being to be a superstar? You may remember Max Headroom. There’s plenty of examples of technology personas, but AI is a different world altogether. Is there a tech media angle to this item? Not really, but here she is — Xania.
This is a must-read article about both Business Insider and Wired being tricked by a phony freelance reporter writing phony stories. If BI and Wired can be fooled, everybody can be fooled.
Veteran tech journalist David Strom is working with a couple of AI developers to understand exactly the nature of his writing as it has unfolded over the years. In this edition of Sound Thinking, David shares his learnings and where everything might go.