A ‘Time’ to Laugh, a ‘Time’ to Weep

So the new Time magazine is out. We must say that we find it much like the old Time magazine, except that it is, well, a little prettier. (The Time logo on the cover is smaller, the cover teasers are now in boxes — like, perhaps, a banner across a Web page? — and the inside pages have a lighter, airier feel, with big, bold headlines.) It looks lovely — which we’re sure we’d say if it hadn’t been designed by our admired pal Luke Hayman, who was New York’s creative director until he was lured away to work on Time’s makeover. Surprisingly, though, a controversy has arisen over this first new Time cover.

Seems the media-ethicists at Radar Online are confused by it; they feel the magazine made insufficiently clear that the single tear rolling down Reagan’s face — an homage, we presume, to the don’t-litter Native American of TV-commercial fame — was added to the Gipper’s photo. It’s a fair complaint. And so to those who are confused, we’ll make it explicit: The tear was added. Also to clarify in case you’re further flummoxed: Colin Farrell was not actually photographed smoking in bed in his boxers while a blonde dozed behind him, Tom Cruise was not actually punctured with arrows while wearing briefs and white button-down, and George W. Bush did not actually bestow the Medal of Honor on Paris Hilton. But the storm clouds over Cheney’s head last week? Totally real.

Time [Official site]
Time Gets Crafty With Weepy Reagan Cover [Radar Online]
Earlier: The March of Radar