Slate's Bizbox




other magazines: Summaries of what's in Time, Newsweek, etc.


Newsweek Newsweek, Aug. 26
(posted Monday, Aug. 19)


Joining the media parade a little late, Newsweek rediscovers heroin. Asserting that "heroin is back up from the underground," the magazine blames the drug's new popularity on the music and fashion industries that routinely glamorize it. Newsweek claims that heroin purity has increased tenfold in recent years, and warns that epidemic use among kids is emerging. (For SLATE's take, see "Smack Happy." Also "The Gist: Clinton's Drug War.") The magazine also speculates that Dole will use a new study alleging a rise in teen drug use to "hammer [Clinton] on the drug problem all the way to Election Day." And a Newsweek poll captures a Dole bounce coming out of the convention: He has narrowed Clinton's lead from 20 percentage points to 2.

Time Time, Aug. 26
(posted Monday, Aug. 19)


Time's cover story on paraplegic actor Christopher Reeve pushes all the hot buttons: celebrity, science, politics, and personal inspiration. Roger Rosenblatt, who is writing a book on Reeve, contributes an immense article about the actor's paralysis, political activism (he will star at the Democratic convention), and potential recovery. Also, Time claims that Boris Yeltsin needs heart-bypass surgery, and that his advisers have considered secretly whisking him to Switzerland for an operation. And the magazine wonders whether the GOP's dismal San Diego ratings will prompt TV networks to end convention coverage.

U.S. News & World Report, Aug. 26
(posted Monday, Aug. 19)

U.S. News offers "news that you can be terrified by" in its cover story, "Danger at the Drugstore
." According to a U.S. News survey, half of all pharmacists fail to warn customers of dangerous drug interactions, including some that could be fatal. What can you do? Ask lots of questions, and read the labels. Also, the magazine explains how the once-mighty Russian military has collapsed (the most pathetic detail: some soldiers now wear civvies on duty because the army can't afford uniforms).
The New Yorker The New Yorker, Aug. 26/Sept 2
(posted Monday, Aug. 19)

The New Yorker publishes a double issue on music with two dozen features covering all the genres--classical, rock, and hip-hop--but very little on jazz. Included in the package is an attack on the CD; Lou Reed's tour diary; an essay on orchestral democracy; Henry Louis Gates' profile of Harry Belafonte; and an R. Crumb cartoon about street musicians.
The Weekly Standard Weekly Standard, Aug. 26
(posted Monday, Aug. 19)

For the second week in a row, the Standard both reports from San Diego and ignores Bob Dole. The opening editorial is cheerless, criticizing the intellectual vacuity of the convention: The GOP chose "affect over argument"; it is building the campaign on tax cuts and "precious little else." Other articles savage the Standard's usual suspects: the biased liberal media, the Clinton response team, and the Reform Party (according to the Standard, phone balloting for the party's presidential nomination was so sloppy that you could vote as many times as you wanted). Also, the magazine critiques "peer-reviewing" by medical journals, arguing that it's less credible than it seems.
The Economist Economist, Aug. 17
(posted Friday, Aug. 16)


The Economist applies its usual economic determinism to China. The opening editorial
and cover story explain why the Middle Kingdom won't necessarily become a destabilizing world bully. Why not? Material prosperity should lead to political liberalization, which should, in turn, pacify China's aggressiveness. Also, the magazine describes the strange peace process in Cambodia, where the Khmer Rouge may finally be falling apart.
The Nation The Nation, Aug. 26/Sept. 2
(posted Monday, Aug. 12)

The Nation runs its second investigative cover in a row on Bob Dole. According to the cover story, Dole interfered with a Senate investigation into allegations that Kansas-based Koch Oil stole $31 million in oil from American Indians and others. Koch owners Charles and David Koch have donated hundreds of thousands to the GOP, conservative think tanks, and Dole's Better America Foundation. Koch Oil could be Dole's Whitewater, The Nation argues. Also, columnists Jill Nelson, Alexander Cockburn, and Katha Pollitt mourn Clinton's signing of the welfare bill.
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