Newsweek vs. Time

Time magazine's eternal nemesis is everything that its competitor is not. Newsweek, as the name suggests, is newsier, less featuristic. While I am a reader of both, I find it hard to say which one is better than the other. I like Time for its creativity and inventiveness. Articles in Time are rarely just factual, there's always a lot of analysis and creative word play.

Yet there are times when I would reach for a Newsweek rather than Time, especially in news stories where I want to know the facts first, before the analysis. It's like having two people, one a very straightforward person; and the other, a very analytical and creative being. The world, however, needs both; in the same breadth that we need both personalities as friends.

I can read my Newsweek faster than I can read my Time, because with the former I can obtain the gist right away. Time I have to read over and over again, just for the sheer pressure of its prose. No wonder it's the choice of more creative people, like my friends in the advertising world.

But if Time has its creative touch, Newsweek has distinguishable warmth. For by focusing on the news itself rather than its implications, Newsweek so unself-consciously creates a deep sense of urgency about what's happening around the globe. Call it bigamy but I will continue to hang on to both.