Economist, March 20
(posted Saturday, March 20, 1999)
The cover story says the United States needs to realize that Chinese espionage is inevitable. A bigger source of Sino-American trouble is export promotion: U.S. presidents should quit hawking goods to China, because that trade policy conflicts with foreign policy. The "Lexington" column advocates a consistent U.S. policy toward China, warning that separation of powers allows the legislative and executive branches to broadcast different messages. (Lexington also praises House Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Christopher Cox "for his cheerful refusal to be a hack or a firebrand.") ... An editorial bids adieu to the old model of European integration premised on an omnipotent central bureaucracy. In addition to being scandal-ridden, the European Commission has squandered its policy-making powers to the point of irrelevance.
New Republic, April 5, 1999
(posted Friday, March 19, 1999)
The kindly cover profile of Bill Bradley says he might seriously challenge Al Gore for the 2000 nomination as the "the candidate of political reform and moral reawakening." The article credits the Democratic underdog with: the 1986 Tax Reform Act, prescience regarding the American high-tech boom, earnestness, an "active social conscience," and "political individuality." Bradley believes Gore is compromised by his association with administration scandals. ... An article argues that abortion is here to stay because it is "an indispensable part of the middle-class toolkit." Despite the fact that two-thirds of Americans have moral misgivings about abortion, expediency overpowers "traditional morality." Pragmatic Republicans (e.g., George W. Bush) understand this. ... "TRB" faults Clinton's moral reasoning in apologizing for American assistance to repressive Guatemalan regimes. The broader goals of the Cold War required the United States to make common cause with oppressive governments. Rather than issuing mea culpas, Clinton should declassify intelligence archives so citizens may judge for themselves if the United States is guilty.
New York Times Magazine, March 21
(posted Thursday, March 18, 1999)
The fascinating cover story traces the path of anti-abortion activist Jim Kopp, the suspect sought in the fatal shooting of abortion provider Dr. Barnett Slepian. Kopp began as a "prayerful defender of life" but became an "any means necessary" fanatic. The piece explores the radicalization of anti-abortion extremists, who have moved from Operation Rescue's nonviolent principles to the Army of God Manual, which instructs activists on violent action. The violent strategy may be achieving its goal: Between 1992 and 1996, the number of hospitals, clinics, and physicians performing abortion declined 14 percent. ... A profile wonders whether Charlie Rose can translate his discursive PBS charm to 60 Minutes II, where he's now a correspondent. The article asserts that Rose's success at 60 Minutes II depends "on his ability to relinquish those very qualities that make him interesting and distinctive": his "harried, stumblebum" style. ... An article focuses on the rebuilding of the Levi's brand, which has lost the youth market since the early '90s. Levi's decline is attributed to the "paradigm shift" toward baggy over tight and the failure of Levi's to retail directly to a new generation of consumers who experience shopping as entertainment. Levi's hopes to rebound by subtly infiltrating youth culture: sponsoring Lauryn Hill concerts, posting flyers, chalking sidewalks, and airing Errol Morris-directed commercials during Dawson's Creek.
Vanity Fair, April 1999
The annual Hollywood hype issue is as immense (414 pages) and gushy as usual. The meatiest feature chronicles how Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn squelched the romance between Sammy Davis Jr. and Kim Novak to avoid adverse publicity. The mob, reportedly acting on Cohn's behalf, threatened Davis with violence to force him into a sham marriage with a fellow African-American. ...VF retreads the story of the industry war between Creative Artists Agency and upstart Artists Management Group. The battle started last summer when prodigal mogul Mike Ovitz rode back into town, founded AMG, and proclaimed his intention to reinvent "the architecture of the industry." The piece explains the institutionalized tensions between agents and managers, and suggests that Ovitz is off to "a strong start," having already lured away industry "crown jewels" such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz. ... Plenty of Hollywood glamour photos: The cover triptych shows the usual fresh crop of movie idols to-be. (Never heard of them? Neither have we.) Virtually everyone who's anyone is depicted in an inside portfolio: Drew Barrymore ("The Nymph"), Sean Connery and Michael Caine ("The Old Devils"), Jodie Foster, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Meg Ryan ("The Three Graces"), etc.
Time and Newsweek, March 22
(posted Tuesday, March 16, 1999)
Time's cover story is Bill Gates' 12-step program for "succeeding in the digital age." Revelations: Use e-mail (No. 1) and not paper (No. 5). There is much jargon: "3. Shift knowledge workers into high-level thinking." One sidebar wonders why Gates doesn't mention the antitrust trial in his new book and urges Microsoft employees to "slap their boss with a digital reality check." Another suggests that Gates is making lavish "investments" in the Republican Party as "insurance" against a legal defeat. ...Newsweek's cover story calls Joe DiMaggio "our first modern media star" and "the loneliest hero we have ever had." The story predictably applauds his achievements on the field and sighs over his difficulties off it.
Time's sprawl story sensibly points out that planning and zoning are inherently local issues not national ones. Nevertheless, national politicians (notably Al Gore) are feasting on the issue, which a pollster calls "startlingly on track with voters." ...Newsweek prints a snippy interview with Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, currently visiting the United States in search of International Monetary Fund backing. If he is refused, he says, "Russia will not perish." ... Also in Newsweek, Nation Editor Victor Navasky rails against Elia Kazan's Oscar for Lifetime Achievement. The only fair way to give Kazan the award, he says, is to "print the names he named on the back of it." (For more on Kazan see "Blacklist and Backstory" in Slate.)
U.S. News & World Report, March 22
(posted Tuesday, March 16, 1999)
The cover story surveys the "E-Mail Nation," addressing cyberstalking, office politics, and online literacy. Conclusion: E-mail's potent mix of intimacy, anonymity, and speed is reshaping American life. One surprise: The elderly are among e-mail's most dedicated practitioners; although initially daunted by technological bells and whistles, they find solace and community online. ... A piece describes Minnesota's new abortion-reporting regulations. The rules, which were pushed by pro-lifers, require doctors to complete a 10-point checklist detailing why the patient wants an abortion, list the patient's method of payment, and record the total number of abortions they perform. ... An article details the Navy's effort to recruit new sailors and retain old ones by establishing on-board "wellness" programs, which include counseling, personal fitness training, and free 15-minute facial massages.
The New Yorker, March 22
(posted Tuesday, March 16, 1999)
A piece calls the killing of Amadou Diallo by New York police officers more explicable than last year's beating of Abner Louima. Whereas Louima's beating was a premeditated, unprovoked act of barbarism, Diallo's killing stemmed from street-crime patrols, where heavy suspicion of blacks is inevitable, if unlawful. ... A piece says the first hair dye ads of the '50s ("Does she or doesn't she?" "Because I'm worth it") were seminal declarations of female self-determination. New hair color offered women "an immediate and affordable means of transformation." ... An article describes trendy new wrinkles in Brooks Brothers' previously starchy marketing techniques. The original fount of preppiness has been reduced to deploying an army of image-makers to reclaim customers from faux WASP competitors such as Ralph Lauren.
Weekly Standard, March 22
(posted Tuesday, March 16, 1999)
The editors eviscerate the Clinton administration's China policy and mock the notion of a strategic partnership with Beijing: "Presumably, if we don't engage this landmass, it will fall on us." ... The cover story, titled "The Gospel According to George W. Bush," narrates his transformation from sinful wretch to fervent believer and his carefully phrased supplications to the Christian right. ... A piece challenges recent findings that mothers don't harm their children's development by working as an "affront" to those moms who stay home or work out of necessity. The study will make it even more difficult for mothers to take time off from work to raise children.