Circe 1995 marked my entry into the big bad world of business, with my enrollment in MBA. Those were the days when I was a greenhorn with little to no knowledge of even basic acounts, let alone economic and marketing fundamentals. Since that time, I have been exposed to a multitude of Business Magazines - Business Today, Business India, 4Ps, A&M, Business World etc - and only one magazine has remianed a constant feature all through this period
I started out with reading these business magazines somewhere in my second or third trimester, when myself along with my 2 friends would sit in the library going through issues of various and sundry magazines along with healthy{and some not-so-healthy} discussions over a cup of the omnipresent "cut chai" afterwards. I even today remember the discussion we had over VAT in 1997 - it had become a college affair with some 20+ students getting involved
I continued reading these magazines during the course of my career. However, as time became a constraint, the full range displayed earlier now started getting filtered, with one magazine after the other dropping out, with Harward Business Review being the first to go{yaar 6000+ rupaye mein kaun kharide? Library mein muft milta thha!}. Over time, there came a point when I found only 2 magazines in my regular portfolio - Business World and the occasional Business Today{Issue-based}
ABOUT BUSINESS WORLD{Courtesy https://businessworld.in}
It is a publication of ABP Pvt. Ltd., a part of the ABP group{which also publishes Ananda Bazaar Patrika} and The Telegraph. As a magazine{as per the website} it has been around for 2 decades now. It also co-produces Star News Television Channelalong with Rupert Murdoch’s group
THE MAGAZINE
The above paragraphs were not just pointless meandering, but were worded to highlight a simple point, which I shall get to directly: I prefer this magazine over all others because of its simplicity. By simplicity I mean:
a) Short, succint and to - the - point articles
b) Easy readability, with a nice type-face, nicely laid out page design, low-gloss quality pages and overall presentation
c) Not too voluminous
d) Its single cover story and the depth of its coverage
e) Focus on issues relating to the macro and micro-economic situation
f) Periodic attention to emerging sectors
g) The price
a) Short and succint articles / c) Not too Voluminous
One can easily go through this magazines simply because the number of articles is filtered to include only the most pertinent. The articles themselves are short and well presented. This is a big benefit as this is one magazine that can be skimmed through even on short journeys
b) Magazine presentation
This is the most significant point of both World as well as Today, as the overall presentation is such that it makes for very easy reading, as opposed to its other major competitors
d) Cover story, depth of coverage e) Focus of the magazine
The magazine has only one cover story, usually on some emerging market scenario, economic fundamental or current hot topic. I have nine issues in my hand, dealing with [i] business families and their increasing shares in their own corporates, [ii] Tommorow’s Giants: companies on the track to become giants, [iii] Shortage of CEOs and the scope for young managers, [iv] Mobile telephony and its trends with respect to Data, as well as Voice, [v] Herd Mentality in the markets, [vi] India at 60: state of the nation, [vii] The emergence of Tulsi Tanti of Suzlon Energy, [viii] Renewable sources of energy and their scope and [ix] Breaking Rhythm: the slowing of the Indian Economy
As can be seen, each article deals with either a core sector, or an economic phenomenon. That is the basic selling point of this magazine, as well as its USP. Each article is, needless to say, well researched as well as neatly laid out, and always gives a major take-away to the reader. For example, the article regarding slowing down was on 15th October - and today the ecomonic survey has shown a reduction in growth to 8.7%.
f) Attention to emerging sectors
This merits seperate attention, as the emerging sectors as well as future hot-spots are well covered, as in the article on renewable resources
Incidentally, since there are only a couple of articles, one tends to recall the good ones - since other magazines usually tend to overload you. For example, B-Today has a cover story alongwith 4 - 6 feature stories of around 6 - 8 pages each, a current section with around 10 articles of 2 - 10 pages each, . Contrast with B-World, which has one cover story and 4 - 6 features, in addition to a few regular columns
g) The price
It is still the most economical magazine in the market, being priced at Rs. 10/-
IN SUMMATION
To sum up the above, this is a magazine which gives insightfull coverage of the economy and the business environment in an encapsulated format, as it is too voluminous. It gives the reader a good overall feel of the current scenario. The basic purpose being fulfilled is quick reading alongwith overall excellent reportage. If you want detail, go in for Business Today, which I regard as equally good, although far more detailed. In additon B-T has a broader focus, and is hence a different ball-game altogether.
Both B-T as well as B-W are top-class, with each having its pluses and its minuses. On the minus side, B-W, as I already stated, is a bit concise as well as the focus is narrow. Interestingly, this is both a plus as well as a minus, as it leads to a quick reading! To the serious reader, it means issue-based reading of at least one other business magazine.But then B-T is a fortnightly, whereas this is a weekly.