When Stephen J. Adler took over as editor-in-chief of BusinessWeek, he made it clear that he would bring the online and print staffs together, that he saw McGraw-Hill’s venerable business periodical as a single entity with online and print components. It has been a delight watching BW’s evolution. It has become a shining example of how a media enterprise incorporate several channels, each based on its strengths. And the mag isn’t doing a shabby job of covering the business impact of new media, either. Beginning with its May 2, 2005 cover story on blogs, BW has continued to lead the business media pack in reporting on the business implications of the transition to an era of social computing.

The July 3 issue is a standout example. Itsregular column, “What’s Hot This Week at BusinessWeek.com,” is dedicated entirely to the magazine’s suite of podcasts, featuring “The Welch Way” with former GE CEO Jack Welch and wife Suzy answering reqders’ questions. Five other podcasts are listed, not including Heather Greene’s terrific show dealing with the business side of blogs and podcasts. Next up is an “UpFrom” item about Mattel’s decision to shut down the American Girl online club and blogger Jeff Jarvis’s opposition to the move. Adjacent to that article is coverage of SHIFT Communications’ introduction of the social media press release template. (So most of us covered this about a month ago when it was launched, but this is a print publication, after all.)

But wait; there’s more! Technology columnist Stephen Wildstrom (one of the BW podcasters), looks at an RIAA lawsuit against XM radio, delving into some new media issues that a lot of people haven’t considered yet. MediaCentric columnis Jon Fine looks at the rise of video blogs and other consumer-generated video content, suggesting it “mayh portend a next generation of political talk shows.” Coverage of the week’s news includes items about VOIP provider Vonage and another about clueless Tinseltown insisting it would charge $19.99 to download a movie from iTunes. (Steve Jobs wants to charge $9.99. Isn’t $19.99 the same price you would pay for a DVD at Blockbuster? So Hollywood wants the same amount of money for a digital version that costs them nothing to produce?)

The lead news item deals with identity theft. A special report covers “The Future of Tech.” The media section explores the challenges of digital content. The section on working life covers mobile workers. The Executive Life section dedicates a page to waterproof digital cameras.

It’s easy to argue that all this coverage is simply a reflection of life as it is in today’s world, but a review of BW’s competitors doesn’t reveal comparable reporting on digital and online matters. And we haven’t even looked at the range of BW blogs and other online features.

If BW keeps it up, I may cancel my Business 2.0 and Fast Company subscriptions as these monthly mags become redundant.