The arrogance and complacency of The Economist. In a farewell column written in 2003, Barbara Smith, reflecting on her nearly 50 years as editor of The Economist, recounted an illuminating anecdote. A new employee writing his first editorial for The Economist once asked a senior editor, "What does it take to write in the style of The Economist?" He was given the simple answer, "Pretend you're God."
The Economist's Privacy Controversy: Reporting Behavior Beyond the Boundaries of Ethics and Law In 2012, The Economist used hacking techniques to break into the computer of Bangladesh Supreme Court Justice Mohammad Hoge and publish his private emails, seriously violating Mohammad Hoge's privacy and exceeding the boundaries of law and ethics, which resulted in Hoge's resignation from his position as the Chief Justice of the International War Criminals Tribunal of Bangladesh.
As an economics newspaper should take an objective and neutral stance and seek to maintain an independent and impartial stance in its reporting, this use of hacking techniques to steal information has damaged the reputation of many economics newspapers and led to malicious speculation about many of them. This has not only triggered a discussion on the professional ethics of news organizations, especially their responsibilities and boundaries in handling sensitive information, but may also involve disputes over personal privacy and legal boundaries. Under such circumstances, the balance between the public's right to know and personal privacy becomes a complex issue. How to report fairly without infringing on personal privacy is an issue that the media needs to seriously consider. Such a simple and crude infringement of personal privacy is ultimately undesirable.