The New Yorker

PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE SPECIAL: Obama and Romney on the cover of The New Yorker

Obama New Yorker Cover

With reports that Mitt Romney’s been practicing “zingers” for two months in preparation for tonight’s debate, and press releases from both campaigns attempting to temper our expectations, I can’t help but post something related to this entertainment. And though I’m dying to ask you, patriotic reader, in light of the aforementioned press releases, whether American politics has actually distended to the point where our Presidential candidates admittedly aren’t our most able communicators, I’ll keep this on the lighter side. Well, actually, one serious question real quickly: If one practices zingers for two months do they actually retain their efficacy? OK, now that I got out of my system…I’m teaching a composition class based around The New Yorker this semester, and just yesterday I had the notion that a consideration of the magazine’s recent political covers might afford a decent summation of the issues currently at stake. I don’t know if I’ll have time to do this with my class anytime soon – we’ve got articles planned through Thanksgiving – but I thought the blogosphere might find it interesting. If nothing else, it’ll be a quick refresher before tonight’s commoditized version of Enlightenment political economy (the debate will make those of us who consume it feel like engaged citizens, even though it’s obvious that both candidates are products of a slightly un-democratic fundraising process).

Magazine Covers Ten Years After 9/11

New Yorker Cover

Image Credit: businessinsider.com and The New Yorker

Lacking a television and the will to listen to news reports about the September 11 attacks during the past week, my only information about the 9/11 anniversary came from The Onion's satirical headline "Responsible Cable News Outlets To Devote Sensible Amount Of Airtime To 10th Anniversary Of 9/11." Though I haven't yet turned on a TV to see the media coverage, it seems from my brief perusal of the internet over the weekend that The Onion was, as usual, a little too close to the truth--some news outlets haven't been as sensible as they could have been. Yesterday, businessinsider.com published a series of sixteen magazine covers commemorating 9/11 that demonstrate a variety of media reactions to the 9/11 anniversary. From this classy New Yorker classy cover to pictures of the dead and dying, these images are stunning and range from sensible to alarming. 

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