How stories of business reinvention can turn into cautionary tales
Alex Wood Morton in London here.
Print magazines hold a special place in my heart.
As a “geriatric millennial,” the loathsome term I’ve earned for being born in 1985, I vividly remember life before and after the internet, giving me and my ‘micro-generation’ a unique perspective on the value of the printed word, versus the chaos of the world wide web.
Case in point: My new Gen Z colleagues at Fortune’s bureau in London have watched with great fascination me printing out their draft stories for review because, in my experience, there’s nothing quite like looking at things on good old-fashioned paper.
Print was one of the reasons I was so excited to join Fortune, and I am thrilled to share with you our latest European Edition, the first marking our expanded operations here, delivering more on-the-ground reporting. I can also provide some exciting updates on where you’ll be able to find your very own copy.
Ahead of the launch of the April/May edition, I sat down with Fernando Augusto Pacheco, senior correspondent at Monocle magazine and host of The Stack, a weekly podcast for anyone who cares about the printed word. I’ve long admired Monocle for going against the grain, focusing on slow-paced, high-quality, design-led editorial in a world that never seems to take a breath. It was an honor to join the show, and you can listen to the interview, which includes some of my editorial plans and vision for the European edition here. Monocle, like so many successful businesses today, has thrived by adapting and reimagining what success can look like.
Adaptation and reimagination are principal themes in our latest issue—though some of these stories of change are cautionary tales. In our cover story, Shawn Tully traces the current woes of aeronautics giant Boeing to management’s effort, over decades, to squeeze out higher profits for shareholders. It was a Wall Street success story—until it turned tragic with the crashes of two 737 MAX planes.
And correspondent Viv Walt delves into the workings of Saudi Aramco, the world’s most profitable company, showing how the Saudi monarchy is diverting billions in earnings from the fossil fuel giant to an effort to make the kingdom’s economy more competitive—and less dependent on, well, Saudi Aramco.
As part of our expansion in Europe, you’ll soon be able to find our print edition in more spots across the continent than ever. In addition to newsstands, look for copies of Fortune at business class lounges in airports across key European cities, including London, Paris, Geneva and Milan, with many more to come.
We also publish all of our magazine content online, so feel free to browse the latest issue here.
As ever, I welcome your feedback. Look out for me clutching a copy of our latest issue in an airport lounge near you.
More news below.
Alex Wood Morton
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
