(posted Tuesday, July 9) Entering the summer hard-news drought, Time goes for an "inside story" scoop, and Newsweek conjures up another trend. Time's cover story, "Yanks to the Rescue," reports that four American political consultants, including an associate of Clinton adviser Dick Morris, secretly engineered Boris Yeltsin's re-election campaign. The consultants, who reported to Yeltsin's daughter ("the real behind-the-scenes boss of the campaign"), persuaded the president to rely on their focus groups and "go negative" against the Communists. This week's Time also takes sides in the growing debate about economic growth and the Federal Reserve Board. "How Fast Should We Grow?" Its answer: "faster."Time pooh-poohs the Fed's notion that anything more than 2.5 percent GNP growth will spark inflation. Newsweek's cover story informs readers that "Nice is in." The magazine profiles sweet-tempered talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell, who has "singlehandedly sav[ed] daytime TV from itself."Newsweek argues that O'Donnell's rise signals a new Hollywood decency: Hootie has vanquished Snoop; Jay is pounding Dave; and Bill Cosby is making a comeback (big scoop: an article by Geraldo Rivera on why he is abandoning trash TV).
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Newsweek and Time discover the same Olympics story this week. "Is Atlanta Ready Yet?" questions Newsweek; "Is the City Ready?" asks Time.