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Time 100

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File:Time100.jpg
The 1999 cover of Time magazine that featured the Time 100

The Time 100 is an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, as assembled by Time. The list was started with a debate at a symposium at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center on February 1 1998 with panel participants CBS news anchor Dan Rather, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, former New York governor Mario Cuomo, then-political science professor Condoleezza Rice, neoconservative publisher Irving Kristol and Time managing editor Walter Isaacson.

History and format

The list was first published in 1999, when Time magazine named the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Based on the popularity of the installment, in 2004 Time magazine decided to make it an annual feature in which the 100 people influencing the world most greatly were listed every year. Making the list is frequently mistaken as an honor; however, Time makes very clear that the people recognized are those who are changing the world for better or for worse. Each year only the five most influential groups are included: Leaders & Revolutionaries, Builders & Titans, Artists & Entertainers, Scientists & Thinkers, and Heroes & Icons. Within each category, only the 20 most influential people (sometimes pairs or small groups) are selected, for a grand total of 100 each year.

Multiple appearances

Time ranks Oprah Winfrey as the only woman to have shaped both the 20th century & the early 21st. She's been dubbed the Queen of All Media and elected the Greatest American woman of all time
Bill Gates has made the Time 100 more times than any man on Earth. He has been listed as a Builder & Titan, a Hero & Icon, and a Leader & Revolutionary.
Condoleezza Rice (currently the US Secretary of State) ties Gates for four appearances on the list, appearing every year since 2004.

Although each category is given equal weight during any given year, people from some categories are more likely to make repeat appearances on the list from year to year. Repeat appearances on the Time 100 are rare. Only the following individuals have appeared more than once.


Listed five times

Listed four times

Listed three times

Listed twice

The order of the above list is based on the number of times each person has appeared on the Time 100. Those who are tied are listed alphabetically. Those list in bold are the select few whose repeat appearances include Time's ranking of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Controversies

The fact that British Prime Minister Tony Blair has never once been listed as one of the world’s most influential people caused mild controversy. Time magazine editor-at-large Michael Elliott defended the decision to consistently exclude Blair:

Gerhard Schröder and Jacques Chirac are not there either. This is a worldwide list. There are no Western European political leaders on it because they are not that powerful or influential at this time.[1]

Although George W. Bush has appeared on the list several times, controversy emerged when he was dropped from the list in 2007 in part because of the Democratic victory in the 2006 congressional election[2]. Rick Santorum of Fox News said:

The fact of the matter is, the president of the United States, I don't care who's in that office, is the most powerful man on the face of the Earth and has more influence over various aspects of lives, not just in this country, but around the world. And for Time magazine to dismiss that just shows you how biased and, I would argue, hateful they are. [3]


The list has not only generated controversy over whom it has excluded, but also who has been included. In 2005 conservative commentator Ann Coulter was listed causing Salon.com to observe:

When Time magazine named Ann Coulter among its 100 "most influential people" last week, alongside such heavyweights as Ariel Sharon, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Kim Jong Il and the Dalai Lama the choice produced guffaws online. Plugging the issue on Fox News last week, Time executive editor Priscilla Painton insisted it was Coulter's use of "humor" that made her so influential, stopping just short of suggesting that Coulter is the conservative Jon Stewart. But even Fox's Bill O'Reilly wasn't buying it. He pressed Painton: "Do you think people, Americans, listen to Ann Coulter? Do you think she has influence in public opinion?"[4]

While Time magazine defended Coulter on the grounds that she is a best-selling author whose controversial commentary has impacted the discourse of the world's most powerful nation, she was not considered influential enough to make a repeat appearance on the list.

Controversy also surrounded the end of the reign of Stephen Colbert. The famed comedian passed the torch of influence to his friend and Astro Physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson in hopes of having a planet named after himself.

References

  1. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20040418/ai_n12754149
  2. ^ http://www.ibnlive.com/news/bush-missing-in-times-list/top/39741-2.html
  3. ^ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270086,00.html
  4. ^ http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/04/19/coulter/index.html
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