Other Magazines

America’s Drug Habit

Economist, March 10

The cover story damns the United States’ supply-side maneuvers in the war on drugs. A U.S. clampdown pushed cocaine cultivation from Peru to Colombia. The drug trade now funds a leftist guerrilla movement, which is destabilizing Colombia. Attacking demand is the best way to beat coke. An article claims Canada is retreating from its commitment to peacekeeping. Canadians claim they invented peacekeeping, but Canada only offered military advisers to recent United Nations’ efforts. By this summer, no more than 3,000 Canadians will be keeping the peace. The magazine worries that cybersquatters are damaging e-commerce by holding desirable Web addresses hostage for stratospheric fees. An aspiring e-company paid $7.5 million for business.com.

Brill’s Content, April 2000

An article savages Mike Barnicle and the celebrity journalists who saved his skin. The Boston Globe booted Barnicle for plagiarism and fabrication. After buddies such as Tim Russert and Tom Brokaw spoke up for the shamed columnist, he easily worked his way back onto journalism’s A-list. The cover story castigates the media for wrongly accusing Richard Jewell of committing the Olympic bombing. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution rushed to judgment and never bothered to apologize for destroying Jewell’s life. A “Best of Web” section picks the hottest sites in 12 categories. (For example, prime media destinations include mediagossip.com and, erm, Slate.)   

New Republic, March 13

A cover story claims that Bill Bradley’s insurgency ran out of steam because it was “boring.” Bradley “tried to lecture his way to victory.” By contrast, John McCain’s reformist campaign offers more oomph. TRB” attributes Bradley’s early allure to his “total lack of ideological coherence.” Bradley offered “Clintonism disguised as anti-Clintonism.” Democrats backed away when they realized that Bradley’s “big ideas” were nothing but flawed proposals wrapped up in fancy rhetoric. An article explains why African immigrants are less angry than African-Americans are about the Amadou Diallo verdict. To recent immigrants, the United States remains “the open terrain of their dreams.” (Lucas Miller’s ” Dispatch” offers a cop’s perspective on the acquittal.)

New York Times Magazine, March 5

An issue devoted to the new workplace. An introduction argues that the New Economy has overturned the “old-fashioned corporate order.” The high-tech boom has obliterated employee loyalty and “all forms of work-related prestige other than sheer money-making.” An article argues that workers are being stung by the “free-agent revolution.” New Economy gurus see the outsourcing of traditionally in-house jobs as “a worker’s liberation movement.” In reality, contract workers have no legal protection from abusive employers and earn less than full-timers. A piece pokes fun at Fast Company worshippers. There are more than 100 cells of Fast Company readers who gather to discuss the magazine’s “Madison Avenue exhortations”—just as quilting bees once mulled Good Housekeeping’s dos and don’ts.   

Time, March 6

A cover package on police misdeeds. One story claims that the Amadou Diallo case will haunt the upcoming election, as activists will press for a federal civil rights case against the acquitted cops. (William Saletan’s ” Frame Game” claims racial profiling pervades the criminal justice system.) Another cover piece rehashes the crimes of Los Angeles’ “gangsta cops.” Twenty-two anti-gang officers resigned because of accusations ranging from drug dealing to homicide. The latest revelation: The LAPD persuaded the feds to deport unfriendly witnesses. A cruel photo essay shows that Hillary Clinton is wearing essentially the same outfit—pink shirt, black suit—at every New York campaign appearance.

Newsweek, March 6

A slow week at Newsweek HQ. The cover story hypes the debut of Sony’s PlayStation 2 in Japan. The high-resolution console is equipped for audio CDs, movie DVDs, Surround Sound, and Internet access. Sony hopes the “Emotion Engine” will help the company become a Web giant. Twenty-five percent of American households already own PlayStations. An article echoes a favorite newsweekly complaint: The tight labor market is squeezing the supply of quality employees. To attract job applicants, retailers are offering medical benefits to part-timers and broadcasting help-wanted commercials on national TV.

U.S. News & World Report, March 6

The cover story repeats the alarm newspapers sounded last week: Doctors are overprescribing psycho-pharmaceuticals to kids. The effect of these drugs on developing brains is “largely untested.” Why the pill pushing? Insurance companies prod doctors to find quick fixes for kids’ problems. An article autopsies Bill Bradley: He “appears to be the wrong man at the wrong place at the wrong time.” Al Gore seems certain to lock up the nomination March 7. A piece reveals that drug addiction is skyrocketing among the Hassidim. More than a dozen ultra-Orthodox Jews have been arrested for selling Ecstasy. A rabbi blames the Orthodox for failing to teach that “drugs aren’t kosher.”

The New Yorker, March 6

A profile portrays Tipper Gore as a hostage to her husband’s ambition and a chronic sufferer of Clinton fatigue. Tipper did not expect Al to pursue political office, but she bowed to his public service “calling.” She was outraged by the impeachment crisis and urged Al to distance himself from the president. Tipper is also offended by Hillary’s indifference to Al’s campaign. An article laments that the Amadou Diallo trial never directly confronted racial profiling. If race remains a proxy for criminality, cops will target (and accidentally kill) innocents. A profile admires Susan Sontag’s Madonna-like ability to reinvent herself. Sontag’s new novel solidifies her transformation from a critical theorist into a best-selling storyteller.

Weekly Standard, March 6

A cover package on the GOP duel. A story argues that John McCain can’t win the general election. He has alienated his party’s base by scorning religious conservatives, attacking supply-side tax cuts, and insulting pro-lifers. Another cover piece concludes that both Republican candidates are doing a lousy job of assembling a winning coalition. George W. Bush must move to the center and “stop referring to his party as a closed corporation.” McCain should focus on “core concerns” of Republicans, such as racial quotas. An article claims that Al Sharpton was the only winner in the Democrats’ Apollo Theater debate. Sharpton’s prominent role at the event—he asked the first question—solidified his transformation from professional agitator to party powerbroker.

T he Nation, March 13

The cover story calls for a national “care movement.” Workers should not have to choose between career advancement and caring for their dependents. Caring is “the most basic form of civic participation.” It should be considered a right. An editorial claims John McCain’s surge is a sign that 2000 will be the “year of the maverick.” The grass roots are longing for a progressive alternative to politics as usual. (Doesn’t The Nation see every political happening—most recently the WTO protests—as the genesis of a progressive uprising?)