- By Seth Stevenson - Slate Magazine

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

By Seth StevensonPosted Wednesday, Oct. 15, 1997, at 3:30 AM ET

Time and U.S. News & World Report Time and U.S. News & World Report, Oct. 20

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(posted Tuesday, Oct. 14)

Time's cover story profiles Hillary Clinton, who turns 50 this month. Savaged by reporters during the health-care-bill battle in the first term, the first lady is wary of the press, refusing to answer personal questions posed by the magazine. When Hillary goes abroad, she finds adoring audiences and independence from the White House. A U.S. News poll finds that the people love her in America, too: Her job-approval rating stands at 67 percent, higher than Bill's best. The first lady shares with U.S. News her plans to raise awareness of women's and children's health issues by pitching her message to--that's right--the press.

Time rehashes last week's Standard piece about Steve Forbes' makeover. He is wooing Christian conservatives for the 2000 election by opposing gay rights and partial-birth abortion. Also, Time warns readers about ketamine, or "Special K," as the surgical anesthetic is known on the street. Ketamine can cause hallucinations, and is said to be catching on with teens.

U.S. News' cover story says former Blockbuster mogul Wayne Huizenga will change the way we buy cars. Huizenga's growing chain of new- and used-car dealerships cuts out haggling and factory rebates, offering a firm base price. A package of articles tracks Generation X investment habits. Xers, more than any other age group, agree that "[t]he only meaningful measure of success is money," and they are much more financially savvy than their parents were at their age.

Newsweek Newsweek, Oct. 20

(posted Tuesday, Oct. 14)

Newsweek's cover story criticizes Deepak Chopra for turning his New Age shtick into huge profit. The spiritual guru's lectures on "cultural malaise" net him $25,000 apiece. A story on the Princess Diana probe says that her car almost certainly collided with a white Fiat Uno, but French cops don't know who drove the mystery vehicle. Newsweek says prescriptions of Prozac-type drugs to minors have increased 80 percent since 1994. Many prescriptions are not warranted, but in genuine cases of depression the drugs are saving kids' lives.

The New Yorker The New Yorker, Oct. 20 & 27

(posted Tuesday, Oct. 14)

The theme of "The Next Issue" is the future. It includes a gushy profile of Elizabeth Dole ("The Next President"); an essay about the revival of Karl Marx as a prophet of--no kidding--capitalism ("The Next Thinker"); a study of the University of Phoenix, a for-profit, campusless college ("The Next ..." you get the idea). "The Next Ex-Presidency" wonders whether Clinton will become a university president, a pundit, a corporate shill, U.N. secretary-general, or even, as Leon Panetta predicts, a U.S. senator: There is an Arkansas Senate race in 2002. Also, an article contends that American media conglomerates increasingly imitate Japanese businesses by forging alliances with their rivals. GE/NBC, for example, has deals with Time Warner, Disney/ABC, Microsoft, News Corp., and TCI. A piece says that the future of law enforcement is "social policing" by friends and neighbors: Shaming people into obeying the law is more effective than imprisoning lawbreakers.

The Nation The Nation, Oct. 27

(posted Tuesday, Oct. 14)

An editorial calls Israel's failed assassination of a Hamas official a "disaster for peace." Worst news: The attempt occurred in Jordan, greatly straining relations with a nation whose leader, King Hussein, has long worked for an end to Middle East violence. A story chides progressive organizations and the liberal media for going soft on Promise Keepers. Only NOW faced the challenge, exposing PK's virulent anti-feminism. Also, an article says foreign policy journals, led by the excellent Foreign Affairs, offer rigorous analysis and great insight. Problem: No one reads them.

Weekly Standard Weekly Standard, Oct. 20

(posted Tuesday, Oct. 14)

An editorial calls for Janet Reno's resignation on the grounds of her partisan inaction: "She is not enforcing the law, and she is not administering the Justice Department in an orderly and credible fashion." A story dismisses Republican crowing over the 25 percent drop in welfare rolls because 1) the biggest drop occurred before the reforms went into effect and 2) enforcing the reforms creates heavy bureaucracy. Also, a writer is pleasantly surprised by the kindly media coverage of the Promise Keepers rally. (See The Nation for same facts, opposite angle.)

Vanity Fair Vanity Fair, November 1997

(posted Saturday, Oct. 11)

On the cover and inside: portraits of "the 65 leaders who shape and rule the world today." Making the list: The Bills (Clinton and Gates), Helmut Kohl, Louis Farrakhan, Fidel Castro, Alan Greenspan, George Soros, Alberto Fujimori, Colin Powell, and Nike CEO Phil Knight, among others. An article profiles cyberprophet Esther Dyson, whose technology newsletter is a must-read in Silicon Valley. Dyson's extreme eccentricities (despite great wealth, she's lived in the same one-bedroom walk-up for 25 years--and it doesn't have a telephone) bolster her reputation as a visionary. Also, Vanity Fair excerpts a novel about a journalist covering the O.J. case for Vanity Fair. The author is Dominick Dunne, a journalist who covered the O.J. case for Vanity Fair. An article details how Kennedy biographer Seymour Hersh got duped by forgers offering bogus JFK-Marilyn Monroe correspondence.

Economist Economist, Oct. 11

(posted Saturday, Oct. 11)

A cover editorial calls for the ouster of Benjamin Netanyahu. Recent ill-timed blunders (including the failed attempt to assassinate a Hamas leader) have derailed the peace process. (See Slate's "Gist" on Mossad for more about the group that botched the assassination.) A report from the Promise Keepers rally in Washington agrees with everyone else that the group isn't as scary as previously imagined. (See Slate's "Promise Keepers 1, NOW 0.") An essay says consumer advocate Ralph Nader will have a tough time battling his newest foe, Microsoft. Nader is a victim of his own success. "[He] has helped make American government intrusive; and that intrusiveness has made Americans wary of seeing government limit the freedom of successes like Microsoft."

New Republic New Republic, Oct. 27

(posted Friday, Oct. 10)

A cover story profiles Paul Weyrich, right-wing founder of National Empowerment Television. A conservative "utopianist," Weyrich demands that fellow conservatives absolutely obey the party line. This all-or-nothing attitude cripples the right wing. An article says the pendulum is swinging back in sexual-harassment cases: It's the accused, not the accusers, who are now winning million-dollar judgments. Also, a story says the Promise Keepers exemplify the right's new strategy: Out-emote Bill Clinton.

New York Times Magazine New York Times Magazine, Oct. 12

(posted Thursday, Oct. 9)

A cover article follows a squad of West Point cadets through the revamped basic training they receive before their first semester. Tradition-bound alums hate the program's new softness (more gender equality, less hazing), while the administration notes that 1997's female cadets can do more push-ups than 1962's male cadets could. A story studies slavery in Mauritania, which continues despite official emancipation. After 500 years under Arab masters, many black Mauritanians think like this woman: "God created me to be a slave ... just as he created a camel to be a camel." Also, an essay criticizes the double standard for adultery: "When men cheat, they're pigs. When women do it, they're striking a blow for sexual freedom."

--Compiled by Seth Stevenson and the editors of Slate.

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