[/floatl]WSJ: Dow Jones Plans to Close Down Far Eastern Economic Review
Dow Jones & Co. said it plans to close the Far Eastern Economic Review, bringing down the curtain on the 63-year-old magazine as the company redirects resources to its other news outlets in Asia. Dow Jones previously cut the staff and publishing schedule of the Hong Kong-based magazine, which has chronicled business and politics in the region in the tumultuous decades since World War II. The company overhauled the Review five years ago, transforming it from a staff-written weekly to a monthly with essays and analysis from political, academic and business experts. The move cut about 80 positions, or nearly all the magazine's staff. The publication has struggled with losses amid the proliferation of global news outlets and the migration of readers to the Web. Dow Jones said in a statement Monday that the situation was unsustainable. The closure is planned for December...The Review debuted in 1946 as Asia emerged from the war, and became one of the most aggressive news organizations in the region. Its coverage made it the target of lawsuits in places like Singapore, where it was ultimately banned. Until late 1986, Dow Jones shared ownership of the Review with the publisher of the South China Morning Post...Dow Jones took over full ownership in a deal with News Corp., which had acquired a controlling interest in the Post...With the closure of the Review, Dow Jones said it will focus its Asia coverage in other publications, including the Journal, its Chinese-language Web site, a planned Japanese-language Web site and new mobile services. Rupert Murdoch, News Corp.'s chairman and chief executive, has said India and other fast-growing Asian nations are a growth opportunity for the company's entertainment and news businesses. The Review becomes the latest English-language publication to close in Asia. In 2001, Time Warner Inc.'s Time Inc. unit stopped publishing Asiaweek magazine, a competitor of the Review.
I doubt whether many people have picked up a copy of the FEER in years but there was a time when it was required reading if you were living or doing business in Asia. The "Traveller's Tales" column by Nury Vittachi formed a basic blueprint for the Japan and Asia blogs which followed: cross-cultural clashes, examples of Engrish, gossip and stories about wacky locals.
