In 2008 Advertising Age magazine named The Economist “The Magazine of the Year” for its “crisp example of excellence in editorial, ad sales, circulation and marketing.” The Economist is a distinctive publication that is growing in popularity in the U.S. James Wilson, a Scottish scholar, politician, economist and entrepreneur started The Economist in 1843. Wilson started The Economist as a newspaper to campaign for free trade and was the chief editor and sole proprietor of the publication for 16 years.

Wilson believed in free trade, internationalism and minimum intrusion by governments, especially when it comes to the market. Wilson was spurred to establish The Economist because of his dislike for the protectionist Corn Laws, which were repealed in 1846. Since 1928, half the shares have been owned by the Financial Times, a subsidiary of Pearson, the other half by a group of independent shareholders, including many members of the staff. The editor’s independence is guaranteed by the existence of a board of trustees, which formally appoints him and without whose permission he cannot be removed.

The world of magazine publishing is enormous. So much so, that there quite literally is an opportunity for everyone, no matter what your interests. There are currently around 10,450 different magazine titles in the UK. The majority of which aren’t sold in most High Street newsagents. Around the world, there are estimated to be around 1.2 million different magazines published in over 200 languages …. although no one knows for sure!

This is also a business that is growing fast – fast – fast. Each year in the UK alone, around 360 new magazine titles are published. That’s approximately one for every day of the year! The demand for magazines is buoyant – and growing. Virtually every man, woman and child in the UK reads at least one magazine over the course of a month. Some surveys show that 95% of people read at least one magazine once a month, and there are almost 60 million people in the UK. Very few products have that kind of take up rate and, of course, most people read many more magazines than that.