A Letter from the Publisher

Every issue of TIME involves a certain amount of tight organization and work under pressure. Last week's election special was something in addition: an unprecedented technical achievement. By vastly revising and accelerating its regular production schedule, TIME was able to appear on the newsstands a full four days ahead of normal, and hardly 33 hours after the last polls had closed. Included in the edition were 28 pages of election stories and 16 color photographs taken Election Day and evening. Preparations for what Manufacturing and Distribution Associate Director Richard Labich called "undoubtedly the most demanding publication schedule we have faced" began months before Election Day. The closing schedules of other Time Inc. magazines were altered to provide a clear path for the election special. To handle the flood of last-minute stories, TIME Operations Director Gerard Lelievre tapped staffs of the other magazines for additional computer operators. Extra video display terminals and computer printers were also obtained. "We tried to anticipate every possible problem. It was like preparing for a battle," said Lelievre.

To make sure that a story did not dally in its progress from writer to printing plant, a "flow chart" was set up outside the office of Managing Editor Ray Cave. By watching color-coded magnetic squares on a gridlike metal board, editors were able to track their copy as it proceeded through the various stages of TIME'S editorial process: writing, editing, checking, re-editing, copyreading, proofreading and fitting. The last story cleared the board at 2:31 p.m. Wednesday, 29 minutes ahead of its final deadline. Said Lelievre: "There is no room for error in a schedule like that, but there is lots of room for luck --which we had."

As the editorial staff at the Time & Life Building in midtown Manhattan was heading home, the work of Manufacturing and Distribution was far from finished. With an impressive network of messengers put together by Ruth Pouliot, corporate operations manager for TIME, black-and-white pictures were rushed to the production office in lower Manhattan. She also hired a helicopter to shuttle color photos to an engraver on Long Island. Finally, the finished pages were flown or electronically transmitted to all 15 printing locations in the U.S. and overseas. By 8 p.m. the first presses were running. And by Thursday morning, TIME'S election issue was on the newsstands in all major U.S. cities, and on its way to subscribers around the world.

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