Magazine Representation:

TIME Magazine

TIME magazine’s audience is the general American public who are interested in current global and national events.  With topics including politics, business and technology, health, entertainment, and style, TIME covers a wide range of subjects because it serves to inform the average person in a quick manner.  While the purpose is to inform, the authors’ opinions and tone come through prominently, especially in Michael Kinsley’s January 24^th article.  Yet, this makes the magazine more effective because the authors instill motivation in his audience to develop their own opinions.  With the information that they are provided through TIME Magazine, the audience can form their own viewpoints.  The 2008 elections represent an opportunity in America for a positive change, which every individual has a say in, thus it is vital that we have the facts to make our judgments accurately.  TIME Magazine headlines topics that affect our daily lives; therefore every one of the frontrunners in the 2008 presidential race have been on the front cover at least once in the past nine months.

            The current state of our economy has been a highly publicized topic in the media, including major publications such as TIME Magazine.  In recent issues, TIME has published articles devoted to the economy, reporting a high possibility that we are slipping towards a recession.  Also, with the 2008 election on the horizon, and the primary races heating up, the candidates are turning to key issues that are affecting Americans the most, such as the economy.  The media is also putting a huge emphasis on the economy and the candidates’ viewpoints on key issues, because they know that those are the issues that the American public is most concerned with.  TIME Magazine is no exception.  Throughout January, TIME published articles comparing the candidates and their parties with the current and future states of the economy; however, each author portrays different aspects and tones of this very complex subject.

            Kinsley takes a very pessimistic approach to our struggling economy.  His January 24^th article entitled “Hair of the Dog” does more than take a pessimistic approach, in fact, he points fingers at several groups in Washington.  Kinsley uses sarcasm to metaphorically refer to the current economic stimulus, which has become a bipartisan agreement, as the hair of the dog. He says, “In other words, the government should go out and borrow even more money and pass around for us to spend.  The experts caution that for maximum stimulus effect, we must be sure to spend it immediately.  No squirreling it away for a rainy day.  In drinking circles, they call this hair of the dog: to cure a hangover, you have another drink”.  He claims that both the Republican’s and Democrat’s solution to the problem will not work; instead, they will continue to make us slip deeper into debt.  The borrowed money for the stimulus would most likely come from a foreign source, and tax cuts would not be spent responsibly. Kinsley calls for the readers to take matters into their own hands and to question our government’s response to this possible recession.

            On the other hand, Jay Carney’s January 19^th article and Michael Duffy and Karen Tumulty’s article from January 17^th both focus more on the candidates and how they are using the country’s economic situation to benefit their campaigns.  While one looks at the Democratic party’s candidates and their stances, the other analyzes the Republican side.

            According to Carney, Hillary Clinton’s success in the Nevada caucuses can be attributed to the economy and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, as President, he had a good track record for stimulating an economy in recession and building it into a strong economy.  Carney also points to the fact that Hillary provided a more a detailed economic policy than Barack Obama.  While highlighting Hillary’s advantages in the Nevada primary as well as future ones, Carney expects the race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to continue possibly until April.  However, Hillary Clinton’s advantage on a key issue such as the economy could be a determining factor in the Democratic nominee.

            On the Republican candidate side, Michael Duffy and Karen Tumulty, focus on GOP candidate, Mitt Romney, and his success in the Michigan primaries.  Although it is his home state, there are several other strategic actions that led to his triumph.  With the current struggles in the auto industry, Romney capitalized on instilling hope in his fellow citizens of Michigan.  Like Jay Carney attributed some of Hillary Clinton’s success to her relation to a revered political figure, Duffy and Tumulty pointed to Mitt Romney’s famous political father.  Romney drew from his childhood memories of his father’s political career for his campaign.  In their article, “Getting Back to Business”, Duffy and Tumulty begin with their focus on Romney, but later turn to the bigger picture of the presidential race.

            They state, “What happened in Michigan may be a signal of how the presidential race unfolds in the months to come, first as each party picks its nominee and then as the two winners square off in November.  The pocketbook is back in a big way on the presidential campaign trail, rocketing past the Iraq war to the top of voter concerns.”  Less than two months after that article appeared, Romney is out of the race; however, the pocketbook definitely is not.  The head of Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign agrees, also expressing the importance that voters empathize with the American citizens and their financial struggles.  The difficulty for the candidates is being able to come up with a solution for the United States’ economic struggles.

            Duffy and Tumulty briefly outline the candidates’ proposals. Hillary Clinton focuses on the mortgage lending crisis, while her Democratic opponent Barack Obama’s solution takes a more broad approach, involving tax cuts and rebates aimed to jump start the economy.  GOP nominee, John McCain resolves to limit government spending, while Mitt Romney's focus on fueling the job market with government investments and lesser government standards was not enough to keep him in the race.  

            The effect, visually, logically, and emotionally, that each of these articles has on the reader is valuable.  Michael Kinsley inspires the audience to take in the information and analyze it.  He pulls his audience in with a passionate and cynical concern for our finances, and because it is a short article, it catches the reader’s eye.  For example, he says, in regards to the current stimulus proposal, “ Suppose we stop looking in the mirror and saying ‘Gosh, you’re drunk. Waiter, I’ll have another’”.  Other authors approach the topic differently, yet still effectively.

  Michael Duffy and Karen Tumulty’s article, “Getting Back to Business”, however, is twice as long, yet is broken up into sections and has pictures throughout to keep the reader’s attention.  Emotionally, the authors successfully empathize with the reader by addressing an issue that is currently affecting every American.

 Jay Carney’s article, “Hillary Wins Nevada, Economy Helps”, immediately attracts the reader’s attention by making them wonder how the economy helped Hillary’s victory in Nevada.  Carney takes a more factual approach to the subject, briefly giving background information and speculating on the future of the Democratic race, stating “despite her surprise triumph in Nevada, the Clinton campaign remains convinced that the nomination battle with Obama will drag on for weeks as each side fights to accumulate delegates."  Now, in March, it is still an extremely close and heated race for the Democratic nomination.  Although each article takes a different approach and describes a different part of this complex issue, they all efficiently present the issue of our failing economy and provide the necessary information to their audience.

TIME Magazine addresses important issues affecting the general public, and informs the reader by taking several different approaches.  With this information, the readers are then able to make their own opinions about the subject, which is a vital aspect in determining the next leader of our country.  The articles represent our nation’s complex economic struggles by explaining them in laymen’s terms.  TIME describes the issues and how they are affecting the 2008 election.