A Letter From the Publisher

By John A. Meyers

For the past 7 1/2 years I have used this space to tell you about the people behind the stories. I hoped to convey the excitement and dedication that have made TIME the pre-eminent magazine in the world. This page will continue to serve that function, but next week's issue will carry the signature of TIME's tenth and newest publisher: Richard B. Thomas.

I will be taking on a new assignment as chairman of Time Inc.'s Magazine Group, acting as senior adviser to Kelso Sutton, the group's president. Before moving on, I want to express my appreciation to everyone who has contributed to TIME's success. When I took over in 1978, worldwide ad revenues were $208 million; the total this year will approach $500 million, the highest ever recorded by any magazine. U.S. circulation has increased by 350,000 in the past four years to 4.6 million; around the world, circulation is almost 6 million. That is 32 million readers each week.

During my tenure TIME's editorial staff made me particularly proud with three special issues -- on the Soviet Union (1980), Japan (1983) and immigrants (1985) -- and with its prizewinning coverage of the 1984 Olympics and the presidential campaign. TIME was among the first Western publications to interview Soviet Leader Leonid Brezhnev and China's Deng Xiaoping. The magazine continues to have unrivaled access to the world's newsmakers. When Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev was ready to reach an international audience, he outlined his views in TIME.

In recent years, TIME's commitment of resources to quality has expanded our range and coverage. TIME has won hundreds of journalistic citations, including most of the world's top photography prizes and last year's National Magazine Award for General Excellence. We became the first newsmagazine to have full color front to back, offering readers and advertisers an environment unmatched in our field.

My successor at TIME, Dick Thomas, served for the past four years as the magazine's associate publisher and worldwide advertising sales director. A graduate of Dartmouth College and former Marine lieutenant, Dick joined Time Inc. in 1956. In 1972 he was appointed the first advertising sales director of MONEY magazine. Two years later he became the first advertising sales director of PEOPLE and in 1978 added the title of associate publisher. In 1982 Thomas was named a vice president of Time Inc. "My goal over the next few years," he says, "will be to help TIME's editors maintain the very special relationship this magazine has with its readers."