Taylor Swift Shows Time Magazine’s Person of the Year Still Matters
By Tom Jones for Poynter
Does Time magazine still matter?
In recent years, there have been stories about the so-called demise of Time magazine. In fact, The Atlantic wrote a story with the headline: “Running Out of TIME: The Slow, Sad Demise of a Great American Magazine.” That was 10 years ago.
Once upon a time, the weekly printed magazine was a must-read, and the cover not only reflected what was important that week, but often set the news agenda for the weeks to come.
The internet, of course, changed everything, and Time’s impact, especially in print, isn’t what it once was. Of course, you can say that about a lot of legacy media, including Time’s longtime chief rival, Newsweek. But there was a time when Time’s cover stories, on a weekly basis, were talked about everywhere from boardrooms to living rooms.
Today, the magazine is printed just twice a month and Time, like pretty much every other magazine, has become a digital-first news outlet.
There is still good journalism at Time, but does it have the overwhelming impact that it used to? That’s debatable.
But, there’s no question that once a year, Time is still a really big deal. That’s when it names its person of the year, which is generally one of the most talked about media stories of the year.
On Wednesday, the magazine announced its 2023 person of the year. It was an obvious choice: singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.
And you know how we know that it still matters? That the Time person of the year is still a really big deal? Because Swift gave an interview to Time’s Sam Lansky. Swift almost never gives exclusive interviews. This is believed to be her first in-depth interview in four years.
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