And the TIME Person of the Year is....

[Beet]

...Ebola Fighters. Excellent choice!

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

PotY died when they chose Rudy over Osama in 2001. This year's obvious choice was Putin and they copped out for yet another feel-good choice, one which is of course highlighted by their focusing solely on American doctors. Rarely in Western media will you hear about the massive effort launched by Cuba, or even by the work of West Africans themselves.

[Beet]

PotY died when they chose Rudy over Osama in 2001. This year's obvious choice was Putin and they copped out for yet another feel-good choice, one which is of course highlighted by their focusing solely on American doctors. Rarely in Western media will you hear about the massive effort launched by Cuba, or even by the work of West Africans themselves.

I thought Putin was one of the top contenders for sure, but this is one case where the feel good sentimentality is actually matched by reality.

[Nhoj]

PotY died when they chose Rudy over Osama in 2001. This year's obvious choice was Putin and they copped out for yet another feel-good choice, one which is of course highlighted by their focusing solely on American doctors. Rarely in Western media will you hear about the massive effort launched by Cuba, or even by the work of West Africans themselves.

Im fairly certain you didnt even read the article.

[Lief 🗽]

Here's an exclusive look at the TIME person of the year issue's cover.

Awful and cowardly choice.

[Beet]

Here's an exclusive look at the TIME person of the year issue's cover.

Awful and cowardly choice.

Um, the first person featured in the article, as well as the person on the cover photo, as well as the majority of people who are Ebola fighters, are black.

[Lief 🗽]

Eh, looking through the TIME article is seems to be mostly discussing the CDC and WHO and American researchers and doctors, with a couple of Africans thrown in.

[Panda Express]

Yeah, should have been Putin with the Sochi Olympics and the Ukraine and everything.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

Yeah, should have been Putin with the Sochi Olympics and the Ukraine and everything.

Yea, but controversy is bad bad bad!

[Cory]

It should have been either Putin or Al-Baghdadi. But once again Time opted for the cowardly feel good choice.

[Paul Kemp]

The Onion did it better, as per usual.

[Indy Texas]

It should have been either Putin or Al-Baghdadi. But once again Time opted for the cowardly feel good choice.

Part of the problem is that the general public still can't wrap its head around the fact that POTY is not and was never intended to be an honor. It can be, depending on the person and what they did, but people can have dramatic impacts on the world in awful ways just as easily as in good ones.

I'd say that ISIS was the logical choice.

[angus]

controversy is bad bad bad!

Bad, maybe, but necessary to sell magazines.  At least for TIME magazine.  Every year was controversial among the editorial staff, but a few choices stand out:  In 1938 the Man of the Year was Adolf Hitler.  In 1939 it was Josef Stalin.  Stalin made it again in '42.  In 1967 Lyndon Johnson was the Man of the year even as the war was escalating.  In '74 it was King Faisal, even though he caused long lines at the pumps by withholding oil in protest of Western support for Israel.  In '79 it was the Ayatollah Khomeni, who probably doesn't need an introduction, and in the 80s they went with Reagan twice.  More recently they have made Men of the Year people like Ted Turner, Newt Gingrich, and Vladimir Vladimirovitch Putin the Man of the Year (or Person of the Year, as it has been called lately.)  Yes, that's the same Putin you were responding to.  He was Person of the year before, and probably will be again.  Lots of life left in that crusty old Russian bastard.  All those choices were highly controversial, not only among the editorial staff but among the readers.  Controversy is bad if you're running for office, but if you're trying to sell magazines, it's necessary.

[NewYorkExpress]

Honestly, besides the obvious choices (Putin, Ebola Fighters) you could make a case for ISIS as a group (Al Baghdadi doesn't really have the charisma Bin Laden did), Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren and Angela Merkel.

[angus]

I'd go with the cop who murdered Michael Brown.  At least that's who I'd nominate if I were working for TIME magazine.  Or maybe I'd nominate whoever engineered the GOP victories.  Boehner?  McConnel?  Either way it'd be controversial, and that's the main thing you need.  Somebody important.  Good is good, but evil is good too, so long as it sells magazines.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I'm always surprised that people care about this obvious gimmick to sell magazines.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I'm always surprised that people care about this obvious gimmick to sell magazines.

Time Magazine is the official rag of the teary eyed internationalist liberal-centrists. Did anyone expect a magazine that has "edgy" material like "The Awesome Column" or Fareed f[inks]ing Zakkaria to make a decent pick?

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Lots of good choices this year, but I'm satisfied with this one.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

controversy is bad bad bad!

Bad, maybe, but necessary to sell magazines.  At least for TIME magazine.  Every year was controversial among the editorial staff, but a few choices stand out:  In 1938 the Man of the Year was Adolf Hitler.  In 1939 it was Josef Stalin.  Stalin made it again in '42.  In 1967 Lyndon Johnson was the Man of the year even as the war was escalating.  In '74 it was King Faisal, even though he caused long lines at the pumps by withholding oil in protest of Western support for Israel.  In '79 it was the Ayatollah Khomeni, who probably doesn't need an introduction, and in the 80s they went with Reagan twice.  More recently they have made Men of the Year people like Ted Turner, Newt Gingrich, and Vladimir Vladimirovitch Putin the Man of the Year (or Person of the Year, as it has been called lately.)  Yes, that's the same Putin you were responding to.  He was Person of the year before, and probably will be again.  Lots of life left in that crusty old Russian bastard.  All those choices were highly controversial, not only among the editorial staff but among the readers.  Controversy is bad if you're running for office, but if you're trying to sell magazines, it's necessary.

Apparently not anymore, if the POTY is going to be related to Ebola.  I'd put that more on the side of sensationalism. 

[retromike22]

Yeah, should have been Putin with the Sochi Olympics and the Ukraine and everything.

[Knives]

I'd go with the cop who murdered Michael Brown.  At least that's who I'd nominate if I were working for TIME magazine.  Or maybe I'd nominate whoever engineered the GOP victories.  Boehner?  McConnel?  Either way it'd be controversial, and that's the main thing you need.  Somebody important.  Good is good, but evil is good too, so long as it sells magazines.

The world is bigger than America...

[Reaganfan]

Honestly, besides the obvious choices (Putin, Ebola Fighters) you could make a case for ISIS as a group (Al Baghdadi doesn't really have the charisma Bin Laden did), Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren and Angela Merkel.

How in the hell does Hillary or Warren influence 2014? They had zero impact. One of them isn't even in office. Seriously?

[Eraserhead]

Bad choice. They probably should have gone with Michael Brown.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

Bad choice. They probably should have gone with Michael Brown.

Another good one. 

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

I think a good international candidate (better than Putin, IMO) is Narendra Modi, who has rather alarmingly changed his world image from "violent racist POS" to "international leader hob-knobbing with the West".