Good news: Never before has so much information—data, advice, research, news—been available to the business executive.
Not so good news: No executive could ever get through even a fraction of even the best of the information age’s materials, so deciding what to read and for what purpose now becomes a hugely incredibly important decision.
In past blogs, we have recommended 15 extraordinary apps for the function-specific executive, including for Human Resources, Business Development and Financial executives. But today’s typical executive is not just expected to understand his functional responsibilities, or his company, or his industry.
So what to read for these purposes? We believe those five iconic global media brands represent the best options in almost all respects: Their news gathering and reportorial capabilities are unmatched; they typically set the agenda of the news cycle (what is and what is not news) and have developed and continued to perfect the technology that surrounds communicating media through apps and other technology.
Financial Times, based in London, is an icon in financial 
journalism. Founded in 1888, its print edition reaches over two million readers globally. It first made itself available in the United States 20 years ago, in 1994. For the last four years, since 2010, it also has been available through the Bloomberg Terminal, the computer system offered by media giant Bloomberg L.P. While The Wall Street Journal closely matches its editorial capabilities and reach, a Global Capital Markets survey found Financial Times was considered the most important read by “senior financial decision makers.” As such, it likely ranks the most valuable business media outlet for today’s executive. Personal note: the most global coverage with unique country insights.
The New York Times traces its origin back even further than 
FT, to 1851. Its iconic motto “All the News That’s Fit to Print” has appeared for decades on the upper left corner of its front page and reflects the richness of its coverage and reach. But with the digital age upon us, its website has refined that to “All the News That’s Fit to Click.” It is arguably the most content-rich newspaper on the planet, covering serious things seriously—and from Manhattan to the U.S. to the world. It stands behind only The Wall Street Journal and USA Today in total U.S. circulation. Its 114 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other media outlet in the world, speaks to its editorial and journalistic greatness and why it is a must-read. Personal note: the most original angles.
The Wall Street Journal It’s the largest circulation newspaper
in the United States. Like all of the media outlets we feature here, it is truly global in its coverage scope. Indeed, The Wall Street Journal Asia (published out of Hong Kong) and The Wall Street Journal Europe (published out of Brussels) both arguably cover business and serious news in Asia and Europe as well as any of their indigenous competitors. Two things, though, make The Wall Street Journal a must-read: First, its coverage of industry and especially publicly-traded companies and equities is in-depth and often news-breaking. Second, its editorial pages are among the world’s best with exceptionally written house editorials and contributing op-eds by a Who’s Who of global experts on a broad range of leading business and current events topics. Personal note: the business reference.
The Washington Post: No American policy or government leader 
starts their day without The Washington Post: Its political reporting of both Washington, D.C. and the world often drive world understanding of what is happening at The White House, U.S. Congress and U.S. government agencies. Like its media peers we include here, The Washington Post has been around a long time, since 1877, and it has won an impressive number of Pulitzer Prizes (47). For better or worse, U.S. trade and regulatory policy remain one of the most important variables in global industry and an understanding of these development and trends has become almost obligatory to today’s business executive. The Post covers them well. Less known perhaps, its global news coverage is exceptional too. It maintains 16 foreign news bureaus across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Last year, the paper was acquired by Jeff Bezos, who is already making it even more relevant and informative as a must-read media outlet. Personal note: the mobile app is free and really easy to use.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek: We have recommended BusinessWeek 
previously. Since being acquired by Bloomberg L.P., it is now part of one the world’s largest financial media outlets. With that comes a vastly expanded capability to report on global commerce, industry and business. It does these things well in part because, by design, it views the business manager and executive as its target readership. It was among the first media outlets to develop an app (which is also available through iTunes accounts). Of note, its annual rankings of educational and medical institutions have become standard-bearers for clinicians, patients and students and drive many a customer decision in health care and education. Personal note: my prefered choice for high tech.
