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Time magazine isn't the kind of publication anybody reads to learn what's
hot. For most of us, still clinging nostalgically to the notion that big, stodgy old
magazines miss the with-it argot of independent "alt" books, finding vestiges of
hipness in Henry Luce's antique,
undemocratic behemoth sounds
about as appealing as
listening to European hiphop, or seeing your parents have sex.
Yet, from its Spy-descended composite pictures and charticles to the funny, if
often forced, Q&A sessions young Joel Stein performs with first-through-third-tier
celebrities, Time makes a disturbing habit of mixing John Glenn hagiography and
the-truth-about-health-care service journalism with material that is about as sharp as
what you'll find in most poorly bound alternazines. How do they stay ahead of the curve?
Simply, they learn fast. You'll recall that Time took a pratfall during the O.J.
saga for "artificially darkening" a photo of the suspect. While the
controversy
incited understandable accusations of racism at the magazine, Time was
really a victim of the
then-current fad for making slick, compelling, Photoshop-driven pictures. But clearly,
they've learned their lesson. In a recent composite photo showing four celebrity musicians
posed as the crew from This Week With
Sam and Cokie, Time's photo editors took a notably hands-off approach
to depicting musical great Stevie Wonder.
![[stevie's hands]](img/steviehands.gif)
Leaving Stevie with caucasion hands was
clearly intentional (since Clarence Page occasional sits in on This Week's panel
of experts, Time could have found a closer match if it had wanted to).
It was also a smart move, for several reasons. Unlike
during the heady days of 1994, editors these days like their Photoshop concoctions to
look, well, concocted. By enhancing the patent absurdity of Stevie's head on George
Will's body - in effect building a Frankenstein creation out of a legendarily
groovy soul master and the most arhythmic of all white guys - Time's funny
picture moves out of the realm of slick, unimaginative megazines and into the grittier,
more honest, but hipper barrio of wisecracking technoslack.
But there are limits to how far hip will carry even a slick magazine. A recent survey
in Brill's Content revealed that nearly half of all people polled would have
chosen to darken O.J.'s picture if they had been in the photo editor's place.
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![[simpleton]](img/thesimp.gif)