Not with a bang but with a whimper. So died the weekly Far Eastern Economic Review, a product born in Hong Kong 58 years ago and which in its heyday between 1965 and 1990 was a major force in Asian journalism, nurturing many a fine writer, getting up the nostrils of governments and businessmen everywhere - and making money.
Doubtless, autocrats will be having a good laugh, having first neutered the magazine, which was once a thorn in their side, to the point where few bothered to take it seriously. In its heyday it took on Lee Kuan Yew in his own courts, losing but achieving a huge moral victory.
There are plenty of distinguished people around who'll look back with pride or nostalgia at a magazine which gave scope to their talents. They include globally famous writers such as the late David Bonavia and Ian Buruma, financial gurus such as Christopher Wood and Credit Lyonnais Asia boss Gary Coull, Asiaweek founder T.J.S. George, Singapore hotel entrepreneur Ho Kwon Ping - twice jailed for his reporting efforts.
Legislator Emily Lau Wai-hing cut her teeth on the magazine. Former Central Policy Unit head Leo Goodstadt was deputy editor and gave Court of Final Appeal judge Andrew Li Kwok-nang a job there during his legal studies. Its roll-call of Asian writers included Paisal Sricharatchanya, Denzil Pieris, Nayan Chanda, Susumu Awanohara, K. Das, Shim Jae Hoon and Salamat Ali - the latter both doing jail terms for their reporting - and non-Asians such as Hamish McDonald, Jonathan Friedland and Margaret Scott.
Its growth came from skilful use of local writers. When I joined the staff in 1973, it had no staff correspondents, relying entirely on stringers and outside contributors. By 1992, it had more than 20 staffers outside Hong Kong. It was the first publication to recognise that there was such a thing as a regional English-language market. It gained a reputation, too, from its critical reporting on the Vietnam war, and for its stance during the Cultural Revolution riots in 1967, when it was highly critical of the government but stood up against threats and taunts from the left.
The death of the Review came by a thousand cuts inflicted primarily by Karen House, the emissary from New York who took over responsibility for the Review two years after Dow Jones, previously a minority shareholder, acquired 100 per cent of the magazine in 1988.