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Far Eastern Economic Review, which covered Asia for more than 50 years, to close

These days, when you hear about a big-name print publication that will close because of money problems, it is still noteworthy.

And certainly, when the Conde Nast name is attached to a publication – as is the case with the soon-to-end Gourmet magazine – people perk up.

But sadly, not all the closings are necessarily surprising.

In international affairs, add the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review, which launched on Oct. 16, 1946, to the list of media outlets that will grind to a halt in 2009.

It will stop publishing in December, according to a Wall Street Journal article. Dow Jones, which is owned by News Corp., publishes both brands.

Financial losses are to blame. The bare-bones magazine once had a stable of correspondents but only six editorial employees are on the payroll, the Journal reported.

Dow Jones officials plan to offer more Asia news online and through other publications.

Still, BusinessWeek noted that the magazine once “rattled Asia’s authoritarian power brokers with its rigorous reporting.”

AFP called it “one of Asia’s most respected English-language news magazines.”

Added The Economist in its take:

ASIA, short enough already of sources of regional news and comment, just became even shorter of them.

The Economist also tossed in this fact, which I found interesting: Its first editor, Eric Halpern, a Jewish man, had been stranded in Shanghai during World War II.

He was famous for wearing a Burmese longyi around the office. He left it draped carefully across the back of his chair for his successor, who inherited a paper said to be breaking even, ‘but not published for profit.’

In 2004, the magazine ended its weekly publication cycle in favor of a monthly one that included more opinion and analytical pieces.

There are many things I’ll remember about the magazine.

I wasn’t a frequent reader, but many who traveled through Asia were aware of its strong brand, its presence.

The name might be a bit of a throwback but the informative and interesting articles made it worthwhile to stop and read. 

When I was traveling through Hong Kong back before the online-saturated world of today, I’d head to a bookstore on Nathan Road in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui area.

I’d find a copy, flip through and get caught up on regional news.

In the late 1990s, when I heard that a Western journalist had reached the Khmer Rouge tyrant Pol Pot through dense jungles and actually interviewed him, I liked that the Review put the story on its pages.   

That journalist was Nate Thayer, who was working for the magazine.

The Independent called the scoop ”astonishing” because the Khmer Rouge usually killed Westerners on their land.

In terms of the chase, the scoop, the exclusive – or whatever you want to call it – it was a keeper.

Everyone knows the feeling: You hear about it first. You tell the world. The world reacts.

In 1997, The Johns Hopkins Magazine ran a story about Thayer’s successful pursuit – noting that he scraped enough dollars together to make the trip from the United States to Cambodia.

It is nice to know that after you’ve accumulated so much expertise that a long format publication is willing to publish a new chapter of history.

Compelling and surprising moments are the ones that have universal appeal. They become memorable.

So: Eat your vitamins, learn how to play a musical instrument, practice tai chi, travel, memorize 100 new words each week, walk backwards around a track - or whatever.

But keep your mind and skills in top working order.

I admit it can be difficult when days are busy.

But what we want to avoid, though, is having a memorable moment slip away like tea leaves in a gust of wind.

And with a market exit, there’s always an entry.

Larry Johnson, the former national/foreign editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, recently launched a blog, Looking for Trouble.

Yes, I understand the difference between a one-person blog and a large newsgathering operation based in Asia.

But Larry’s a good guy, a knowledgeable person, an author about international affairs.

Last week, he reminded people about recent disasters in Asia – and that people need help.

On some days, when we worked together in the newsroom, I’d stop by his desk. We would get caught up on news out of Asia.

It was sort of the same way that I would stop by that bookstore in Hong Kong and pick up a copy of the Far Eastern Economic Review.