Last October 17, Time magazine led off with a cheerful “Letter from the Managing Editor,” telling of Time’s plans “to better serve the needs of busy, curious, intelligent readers.” These included a new Interview section, a more complete index, and an expanded People section that “is, well, just more fun.” But then, ominously: “we have introduced some new voices in Time, along with a broader spectrum of points of view.”
It doesn’t take much imagination to guess how broad this spectrum is. A typical example was a box by national political correspondent Larry Barrett, in which the author labeled RNC chairman Lee Atwater a “muck maven” and said: “If Bush really wants to prove himself a political environmentalist in search of a kinder, gentler America, he should sack Atwater.” In a follow-up interview with Media-Watch, senior editor Robert Zintl acknowledged: “We do these boxes to be provocative, to make a little editorial point. . . . The magazine has gotten more opinionated on certain subjects.” But “little editorial points” are not confined to boxes; since George Bush’s election, Time has embarked on an ambitious mission to promote a liberal political agenda.
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