Contributors

TIM PADGETT, TIME's Miami bureau chief, has covered Latin America since 1989, but as the parent of a 5-year-old boy, he was particularly intrigued by the international tug-of-war over this week's cover subject, Elian Gonzalez. "It's been painful as a father as well as a journalist to watch Elian have to endure this interruption in his blossoming," says Padgett. With the assistance of stringer Dolly Mascarenas , Padgett interviewed Elian's relatives in Florida and Cuba. "Both families are decent, sincere people who obviously care a lot for Elian," says Padgett. But the INS ruling returning the boy home, he says, reflects Elian's "deep connection with the father." Padgett can understand. "Elian kind of reminds me of my boy in many ways."

PRISCILLA PAINTON, editor of the Nation section, is off to the races. Under her supervision our coverage of Campaign 2000 kicks off this week with an analysis of the increasingly antagonistic race for the Democratic nomination. "We try to pull the curtain back on Gore and Bradley and say, 'There's a lot of fracas here, but are the candidates all that different?'" Chief political correspondent Eric Pooley and national correspondent Karen Tumulty address the question in a behind-the-scenes look at the Democratic running men, while senior editor Nancy Gibbs essays about the nature of post-ideological campaigning, and contributor Steve Lopez casts an amusing eye on the candidates in his campaign diary.

JOE ZEFF and ED GABEL, our graphics director and associate graphics director, began working on the NASCAR-inspired gatefold guide to the primary season (see page 47) late Wednesday, with only Gabel's rough sketch in hand. Over the next 48 hours they exhausted themselves layering the charcoal drawing with loads of realistic, and fun, details. "The idea," says Zeff, "is to take information that people might find boring and make it as engaging as possible." To spice things up, Zeff and Gabel added small touches, like the POW/MIA sticker on McCain's racer and gold lettering on Forbes' chauffeur-driven limo. As for realism, Zeff went so far as to enhance the textures of the racetrack and infield with digital photos of his driveway and lawn. "We never cut corners. In some ways it's idealistic--in other ways it's idiotic. But it's definitely fun."

DIANA WALKER and P.F. BENTLEY, TIME contributing photographers, have been covering presidential campaigns for the magazine since 1984, and their experience shows. "They get the moment without interfering," says director of photography Michele Stephenson. "They're incredibly accomplished at being unobtrusive." They're incredibly accomplished, period. Walker has taken five first-place honors from the White House News Photographers Association, while Bentley has won the campaign category of the Missouri School of Journalism's Picture of the Year competition every year since 1984. "Both Diana and P.F. use their cameras to take us where no one else goes," notes Stephenson. "And their pictures have added so much to what we've learned about our recent political history."

MICHELE ORECKLIN has been writing TIME's People page for the past year, and while she loves the perks of the entertainment beat--movie screenings, parties, beautiful people--she has grown weary of at least one thing. "The opening chords of Entertainment Tonight drive me positively nuts," says Orecklin, who nevertheless perseveres (except on those rare occasions when Jeopardy's siren song proves too strong to ignore). For this week's People page, Orecklin reports on the breakup of Ted Turner and Jane Fonda. Although Turner is vice chairman of Time Warner, [parent of TIME's publisher] and a certified big shot, he'll not be spared Orecklin's sharp needle. "Just to be sure, though, I'd like to take this opportunity to say, 'Good luck, sir!'"