Senior Writer George Church's first foray into the world of economic journalism was a 1954 story for the Wall Street Journal about a revolutionary trend in packaging orange juice: cardboard containers, like those used for milk. The idea caught on and so, quite clearly, did Church. He rose to become a front-page editor at the Journal, joined TIME as a business writer in 1969, and served for four years as the editor of the Economy & Business section. Since moving to the Nation section early last year, Church has proved himself to be one of the magazine's most prolific and versatile cover writers, treating subjects as disparate as the gay revolution (April 23, 1979) and Pope John Paul II's visit to America (Oct. 15, 1979). A profile of Ronald Reagan earlier this month brought his career total to 29 cover stories. With his 30th, this week's cover on President Carter's struggle to curb inflation, Church finds himself back in the business world, though some colleagues believe he never really left. Says Nation Editor Otto Friedrich, who edited the story: "George reads economic statistics with the gusto that other people devote to reading menus, Racing Forms or love poems."

Over the years Church has cultivated some techniques to enhance his impressive productivity and spur his prose. To conquer writer's block, for instance, he sometimes paces TIME'S corridors for miles at a stretch. His explanation: "I hope that once my legs begin to move, the mind will follow." In his Business section days, Church followed a less conventional but surefire ritual to get his journalistic juices flowing: a pre-cover-story haircut. Alas, he laments, "I've had to abandon that practice since moving to Nation. Cover stories come more frequently here. I'd be the Yul Brynner of the section."

Once Church gets going on a topic, a mere cover story cannot always contain his talent and energy, so he indulges a longtime passion for satire and verse. His Man of the Year story in January produced an Ayatullah Khomeini limerick ("too indecorous to quote," he says), and this month's Reagan cover story yielded a parody of an all-purpose campaign-trail press conference: "Q. Senator, what do you think of the new poll that shows you an overwhelming victor in North Dakota? A. I wish I could believe it, but it's wrong. I'm going to get crushed in that state. Q. If it's that hopeless, why are you flying back there after lunch? A. Well, we do have this afternoon to turn it around." Will Church again turn to humor after this week's story? No, he says: "Today's inflation is no laughing matter."

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