First, there was the goofy, perpetually gamed online nomination poll. In doing so, it converts the press into a gigantic public-relations arm of Time Inc. Look, more power to the House that Luce Built: Time manages to get everyone to treat its warmed-over sweepstakes as a major news event, year after year. The worst offender in treating them otherwise is without question Time’s Person of the Year, which was announced today. One thing these lists are not, however, is news. They are a great way to recap all the biggest stories of the year, remind us what mattered over the previous 12 months, and start initial revisions on what Philip Graham memorably called “the first rough draft of history.” We even do them here at The Atlantic. There’s plenty to be said for year-end wrap-ups and lists.
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