From the Publisher

By Elizabeth P. Valk

As athletes from 64 nations gather in Albertville, France, next week for the 16th Winter Olympics, TIME's staff will begin a transatlantic, marathon effort to cover the Games. This week's special 15-page preview, coordinated by Jose M. Ferrer III, assistant managing editor of TIME's International editions, will be the first of four special sections on the competition. "There's a magical quality to the Winter Games, a sense that they retain the original Olympic ideal," says Ferrer. "Our job will be to portray the human stories behind the global Games."

Joe has always shown a gift for finding the personal angle of a news story. (And, incidentally, he is not related to the recently deceased actor Jose Ferrer, but it's a question he's got used to over the years.) Since joining TIME in 1963, he has written and edited in all sections of the magazine, first turning his hand to the Olympics in 1984. Along the way, he has also earned a reputation for being a tireless teacher of young writers -- and a tireless everything else, for that matter. It is a rare closing night that does not find Joe at his computer terminal, mulling over some late-breaking story, raising questions, smoothing transitions, apparently impervious to the late hour. That iron-man constitution should serve him well as the leader of TIME's Olympic team. Joining Ferrer for the task is senior editor Stephen Koepp, a ski enthusiast on a break from his duties in the Business section.

This past weekend, as reporter Lawrence Mondi helped organize coverage at home, deputy chief of correspondents Paul A. Witteman and special-projects associate picture editor MaryAnne Golon set up shop in Albertville. Witteman will be heading our on-site reporting team, while Golon will sift through 7,000 photos daily to send the best back to designer Jane Frey. Just before departure, most of our team gathered in New York City's Central Park for a last-minute workout. "It's not exactly top-level luge, but my only other winter activity -- snowball fights -- is not yet recognized as an Olympic sport," laughs Ferrer.