Media Meditation #6: A Stitch in TIME

TIME magazine was created in 1923 by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden becoming the first weekly magazine distributed in the United States. Since then the magazine has expanded to include LIFE, and was after Luce died TIME had a radio program. In recent years, TIME is now owned by Time Warner and has been selling fewer magazines. Maybe this is due to an subscription costs, or maybe to the fact that today's society is more likely to go to the internet for news, than pay for it. All I know is TIME, and LIFE have been magazine favorites of mine for many years, mainly for the photojournalism, but when I picked up a copy of the special edition of TIME: Great Discoveries- Explorations that Changed History, I paid $12.99 plus tax. Now that's a lot for a magazine, even if it is special edition. But I do have to consider the production techniques that went in to this particular issue. For starters, the coveris made of a thick, durable paper, with a sturdy book binding compared to TIME's usual stapled binding. Also, unlike a normal issue, this does not follow the normal TIME structure, that has become an iconic symbol is journalism. Instead of the red border, this edition has TIME in red, and a blown up photo of Comet Hale-Bopp, along with three photos from each discovery subject the magazine contains. Right off the back, TIME invested more money in having clearer photos, worthy of LIFE's photojournalism standards, and brighter colors. Also, to add to their production techniques, TIME created an alternative cover for the hardcover issue.

But the main point with both productions is that the main image is very captivating; they catch the viewer's limbic system triggering the way the viewer feels whether it's a longing to travel, or urging knowledge. All 122 pages are filled with beautiful photography, involving everything from nostalgic photographs from 1909 at the North Pole, to photos taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, and no advertisements. The text that accompanies the images stimulates the neocortex, allowing your brain to gain knowledge about the past and hopes for the future.
Then the production crew had to keep their reader's attention further than just pictures, the aesthetics can only last long enough. A reader could look at the issue for it's aesthetically pleasing cover, the familiar title of TIME, and the fact that it's a special issue, but the reader needs to buy the issue in order for the magazine to make a profit. The photography had to trigger emotion in the reader, and the articles a sense of wonder. I love learning about history and to see photos of the Nile, and a skeleton that predates the famous 'Lucy' was enough. TIME's mission was to continue with their series of Great Discoveries and discuss the various 'Discoveries' on Earth, by exploring the past, the current life on Earth and how it evolved, the solar system, and the mysteries of Earth itself, like plate tectonics, Yellowstone, and the Ring of Fire.
They provide just enough information to leave their reader wanting more, but the articles had to be vague enough to let the reader form their own interpretation. The articles aren't political, just purely informational, and although brief they are jammed with the discovering process. It is up to the reader, to do more research on each topic if they so choose depending on what they enjoyed. I took away a meaning from the article on Chichen Itza, that no one else did. This was based on my personal experience in Mexico this past summer.

To see photos from a place I had been, had a huge impact on me. Unintentionally, TIME effectively added an emotional transfer to a viewer. I could relate to the article, could remember what I had seen, and what I was told by the tour guide. I could then relate my knowledge to what was discussed in the article.
Besides my personal experience, I was really intrigued by the article on the peat moss skeletons, and how peat works as a preservative. I had never heard of it before and the photos were so lifelike. You could see the wrinkles on the bodies, and see real human hair dating back to "a period ranging from the 5th Century B.C. to the 5th Century A.D.- although bodies have been found dating from 8,000 B.C. to well into the Middle Ages." These discoveries, the first found 1835, are called bog bodies. Now, more than 1,000 have been found, being essentially pickled by the peat moss, preserving even hair that eventually gains a reddish hue from the chemicals in the moss. Not only was this article filled with scientific evidence as to how the bodies are preserved and why many of the bodies were thrown in bogs, but it leaves on a cliff hanger, making me want to learn more. I proceeded to do my own research on National Geographic.



Although this video was made by National Geographic instead of TIME magazine I was well informed. The voice over and the eerie background music stimulated both my limbic and neocortex systems. The film was a shortened documentary, transforming historical findings into video through the use of an epistemological shift, and the film used a variety of techniques to keep my attention, including snapshots of the mummies with scientific evidence to how they died, and how the peat moss works as a preservative, and brief footage of reenactments of when some bog bodies were killed and buried. Also, to make their movie more credible they brought in Christian Fisher, director of the Silkeborg Museum in Denmark, to explain the properties of peat moss.

Overall, this special issue of TIME magazine was well worth the inflated price. With all the effort put in to producing this magazine, everywhere from color design and paper, to the photojournalism I can see why the magazine needed to sell for $12.99. I highly enjoyed it; my only issue was the length of the articles. The articles were very short blurbs that contained scientific evidence, and expert testimonials, but I wanted to learn more. I understand that TIME is not National Geographic, and its not their job to go into historical detail, and that the message of the magazine was just to inform the reader of all these discoveries, even if it was brief.

Media Meditation #6