A Spectator's Notebook
THE NEWS that Mr. Donald Tyerman is to succeed Mr. Geoffrey Crowther as editor of The Economist is doubly interesting. The change involves two of the most remarkable figures in contemporary journalism. Mr. Crowther has been editor of The Economist since 1938—he was only thirty-one at the time of his appointment—and his success has been astonishing. When he took it over, The Economist was a rather dull journal with a specialist rather than a general readership. Today it has an immensely influential readership, both here and abroad (especially in America), a fact which is reflected both in the number of times it is quoted and in the enviable size of its income from advertisements. Mr. Crowther's success has rested on two quite separate qualities, not often found together in one person. In the first place, he is a brilliant journalist. He has a clear and quick mind and, even more important, a style which combines lucidity, point and wit. A 'Crowther' leading article in The Economist has always been recognishble. Secondly, he is a high-powered salesman in himself. On his frequent trips to America in the past he has been the best advertisement which The Economist could have wished.
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