FEATURE15 November 2018

Fighting the fake

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Features Impact Media UK

The Economist has been printed for 175 years, but lots is changing – from the wider political climate to the way people read their news, as its chief marketing officer, Mark Cripps, explains to Ben Bold.

The Economist 2

Thank you, Mr Trump!” jokes Mark Cripps, The Economist’s chief marketing officer. At a time when the US president is under growing scrutiny over his relationship with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the subject of several White House exposés, and raising eyebrows with his excruciatingly awkward behaviour during his UK visit, it’s perhaps a strange thing to say.

But Cripps makes a serious point. In this era of ‘fake news’ (whether that’s genuinely fake reporting or the term that Donald Trump applies to any news brand that criticises him), there is a rapacious appetite for quality journalism – and few publications are as reputable as The Economist, now in its 175th year.

“He’s done us really well, ” Cripps says. “There are definite spikes related to the news agenda, from the UK elections, Brexit or Trump’s presidency… all have spiked traffic to our content, and even driven newsstand sales.” ...