A Letter From the Publisher

By Robert L. Miller

Since Henry Ford Sr., Will Rogers and Heywood Campbell Broun appeared in its inaugural pages in the May 16, 1927, issue of TIME, the People section has consistently been one of the magazine's best-read features. "Celebrities are both role models and instant icons," says Staff Writer Guy D. Garcia, who has written the People page since 1983. "When it comes to the glitterati, I guess folks haven't changed much." As many readers will have noticed, People has a lively new look these days. The section now features a special "strip," designed by Assistant Art Director Billy Powers, to spotlight the most colorful event or personalities of the week.

Witness this issue's special People coverage of the charity knockout joust held by Britain's royal family, in which the Windsor children displayed a decidedly unstately yen for slapstick. As is often the case, eye-catching photography was crucial to the choice of the subject. "The strength of a picture will often make or break an item," says Picture Researcher MaryAnne Golon. "We want the usual suspects doing unusual things."

For Garcia and Reporter-Researcher David Thigpen, the People beat provides unusual private glimpses of the most public figures. Thigpen has interviewed a disparate constellation of celebrities, from ex-President Jimmy Carter ("He was a lot shorter than I expected") to Basketball Great Julius Erving ("He wasn't"). Garcia's favorites have included Actress Daryl Hannah ("very sweet and unpretentious") and Singer-Songwriter Sting ("amazingly thoughtful for a rock star").

Mostly, though, the job entails just plain hard work. Each week Garcia, Golon, Thigpen receive a flood of invitations to celebrity-packed events, most of which they are forced to skip in order to meet their deadlines. Beginning early in the week, the trio pores over story suggestions from TIME's foreign and domestic bureaus, as well as stacks of newspapers and publications, picking out the dozen or so timeliest and most colorful items. Says Writer Garcia: "At this point, we pretty much know a People item when we see one. Generally, it's going to be a snappy story about a prominent person, something that's informative but with a light touch and maybe a little bit of irony." So far, that approach has withstood the test of time, and our guess is that it will continue to do so.