Friday, February 10, 2012

Time's 'Person Of The Year' Isn't You -- It's Him

December 19, 2007

Remember how cool it was when Time magazine's "Person of the Year" was "You?" Remember the cover story that said the World Wide Web in 2006 had become a precious tool for bringing together the contributions of millions of people and making them matter? Gosh, that was nice. We really liked that.

Well, the 2007 "Person of the Year" is Vladimir Putin. The magazine said his final year as Russia's president was his most successful: "At home, he secured his political future. Abroad, he expanded his outsize -- if not always benign -- influence on global affairs."

Not a bad choice, but c'mon, plenty of fun tech-related people made news in the past 12 months. It would have been great to have claimed the cover yet again. Was Vint Cerf a contender? He's been called the "Father of the Internet" and his lengthy tenure as chairman of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ended recently.

Runners up were former Vice President Al Gore, author J.K. Rowling, Chinese leader Hu Jintao, and U.S. military commander David Petraeus.

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Juliana Gruenwald

Tech Writer

E-Mail: jgruenwald@nationaljournal.com.


Juliana Gruenwald has been covering tech and telecom issues for more than a decade for National Journal, Interactive Week, BNA and Congressional Quarterly. This is her second stint with National Journal. She was recruited by NJ in 1998 to help launch its first tech policy publication, Technology Daily. She left in 2000 to cover international tech and telecom issues for Ziff Davis Media's Interactive Week magazine. She started her career at United Press International as the wire service's first Helen Thomas Intern. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. A Minneapolis native, she misses the lakes but not the cold.


Josh Smith

Tech Reporter

E-Mail: joshsmith@nationaljournal.com.


Josh Smith covers technology policy as a staff reporter for National Journal. He previously interned at National Journal Daily, a Senate press office, and the Deseret News in Salt Lake City where he covered the state legislature, courts, and crime. In 2009 he graduated with honors from Southern Utah University after managing an award-winning student newspaper as editor-in-chief. Josh has received state, regional and national awards for his political and policy reporting, including first place in CapitolBeat’s 2009 Best of Statehouse Reporting college competition. A native of drop-dead-gorgeous Utah, Josh lives in Virginia with his wife, Amber.