Far Eastern Economic Review

Far Eastern Economic Review
Title	Far Eastern Economic Review
Frequency	Weekly
Category	News magazine
Company	Dow Jones & Company
Firstdate	1946
Finaldate	2009
Country	Hong Kong
Language	English

Far Eastern Economic Review was a weekly English-language news magazine founded in 1946 and published from Hong Kong that covered political, financial, and business developments across East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Korean Peninsula, and Greater China. Over six decades the publication reported on events ranging from the Chinese Civil War aftermath and the Korean War consequences to the rise of the People's Republic of China and the economic transformations of Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. Owned for many years by Dow Jones & Company, the magazine combined investigative reporting with analysis and commentary, earning recognition and encountering disputes with governments, corporations, and media owners.

History

The magazine was established in the aftermath of World War II in 1946 by Eric Halpern and Henry Newbold as a means to track reconstruction, trade, and political shifts across Asia, taking cues from regional developments such as the 1949 triumph of the Chinese Communist Party and the postwar order shaped at the San Francisco Peace Treaty. During the 1950s and 1960s the Review covered events including the First Indochina War, the rise of Sukarno in Indonesia, and the Vietnam War, expanding its bureaus to cities like Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Manila, and Taipei. In the 1970s and 1980s editorial leadership navigated coverage of Nixon’s 1972 opening to the People's Republic of China, the Japanese asset price bubble, and the Asian Tigers phenomenon, while ownership transitions culminated in acquisition by Dow Jones & Company, publisher of The Wall Street Journal. The Review adapted to late 20th-century shifts including the 1989 events at Tiananmen Square, the 1997 Asian financial crisis centered on Thailand and Hong Kong, and the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union which reshaped regional alignments.

Editorial Profile and Content

Editorially the magazine combined investigative features, business reporting, and long-form essays on leaders and institutions such as Lee Kuan Yew, Ferdinand Marcos, Chiang Ching-kuo, Mao Zedong, and Shinzo Abe. Coverage emphasized corporate developments involving firms like Mitsubishi, Samsung, Toyota, Petronas, and Li Ka-shing's enterprises, and financial trends tied to markets such as the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The Review regularly featured analysis of international arrangements including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, APEC, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, and reported on cross-border disputes such as the Senkaku Islands dispute and the South China Sea arbitration. Its pages ran profiles of policymakers from Goh Chok Tong to Mahathir Mohamad and investigative pieces that scrutinized scandals involving figures like Nayef Hawatmeh or corporate controversies linked to conglomerates in Malaysia and Indonesia. The magazine also published cultural and intellectual commentary on writers such as Haruki Murakami and Pramoedya Ananta Toer.

Circulation and Distribution

At its peak the Review claimed a readership among diplomats, business executives, and academics across capitals including Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Taipei, Seoul, and Tokyo. Distribution relied on subscription networks and newsstands in financial centers like Hong Kong and London and partnerships with distribution channels servicing expatriate communities in New York and Sydney. Circulation figures fluctuated with regional advertising markets, competing with publications such as The Economist, Asiaweek, and local dailies like South China Morning Post. The advent of digital media and the rise of rival outlets including Bloomberg and Reuters’s regional services altered advertising revenues and subscriber behavior, challenging the magazine’s traditional print model.

Political Influence and Controversies

The Review’s investigative reporting frequently brought it into conflict with governments and powerful individuals. It faced libel suits and censorship pressures from authorities in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and China over articles alleging corruption or human-rights abuses linked to leaders and security agencies. Coverage of the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66 era and reporting during the tenure of Suharto drew intense scrutiny, as did exposés touching on the inner circles of Ferdinand Marcos and the Philippine elite. The magazine’s scrutiny of corporate-government ties prompted pushback from conglomerates with close links to ruling parties in countries like South Korea and Japan. Internally, tensions between editorial independence and corporate ownership surfaced after the Dow Jones & Company acquisition, especially when high-profile investigations intersected with the business interests of shareholders and advertisers.

Notable Contributors and Staff

The Review’s masthead and contributor list included journalists and analysts who later influenced regional journalism and scholarship: editors such as Alan Gray and correspondents like Bill Emmott (who later edited The Economist), alongside writers who became commentators on Asia’s geopolitics and markets. Contributors ranged from investigative reporters to academics affiliated with institutions like Harvard University, Stanford University, London School of Economics, and local think tanks including the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Photographers and columnists produced notable portfolios on leaders including Corazon Aquino and Deng Xiaoping; many alumni went on to roles at The Wall Street Journal, BBC, CNN, and national broadcasters in Japan and South Korea.

Closure and Legacy

Faced with declining advertising and shifting consumption toward online news, the magazine reduced frequency before Dow Jones announced in 2009 the cessation of its print edition and online operations, prompting commentary from figures across media and policy circles including former editors, academics at Columbia University, and media critics at Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Its archives remain a resource for historians researching postwar Asia, referenced in works on subjects like the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, and the rise of China as a global power. The Review’s legacy persists in the careers of its alumni and in the model of region-focused investigative journalism that continues in outlets across Asia and international media organizations.

Category:Magazines established in 1946 Category:Publications disestablished in 2009