Time's Person of the Year

So you're offended because an award made up by a magazine to stir buzz and drive up sales ... made a selection that bears in mind the need to stir buzz and drive up sales.

It ain't the Nobel Prize.

 

It's been all downhill since they picked this guy:

 

Nah, I wouldn't say I'm offended. I get it.

Just worth pointing out.

 

I don't even have a problem with the ultimate award as much as the paltry list of candidates. Aside from McRaven, there's nothing.

If they wanted to create buzz, Norquist would have been a riot.

Remember last year? There was outrage that they would pick Mark Zuckerberg, when Julian Assange was in the process of bringing down governments and redefining the world. Whatever happened to that guy?

 

I like Ryan, but he doesn't even belong in the discussion. I don't know that there's really anyone politically this year who stood out enough to be considered.

I understand they need to sell issues, but Seal Team Six would have done that.

Steve Jobs also would not have been a bad choice, but they might not have wanted to do that after doing Zuckerberg last year.

 

I thought Zuckerberg was a good choice or at least in hindsight I think it holds up. I'd have to check last year's thread to see if I thought that at the time.

 

I don't know, I once knew a preps writer who turned in a terrific wrestling article, even though the losing wrestler wouldn't talk to him.

 

Absolutely, you could. You don't even have to know who they are when you write it. You write about the mission. About the SEALS in general. About what Osama's death meant for our country. For the world.

 

Surprised Robert Gates wasn't considered, but I do think it was an appropriate choice, especially with regard to Arab Spring. We will be dealing with the repercussions of those upheavals for decades.

 

This is not unprecedented in the history of this issue. But the 2000s have been too full of these kinds of picks:

2002 The Whistleblowers
2003 The American Soldier
2005 The Good Samaritans
2006 You
2011 The Protester

Before that, it was a little more spread out:

1993 The Peacemakers
1988 The Endangered Earth (planet of the year)
1982 The Computer (machine of the year)
1975 American Women
1969 The Middle Americans (silent majority)
1966 Baby Boomers
1960 American Scientists
1956 The Hungarian Freedom Fighter
1950 The American Fighting Man

That being said, I think The Prostester is a good choice. It really has defined this year all over the world, especially in the Middle East but also here.

 

If you were picking the five finalists, who would you choose?

 

Even some of those it was pretty clear who they were referring to.