Time Magazine has named Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg, who is fighting the climate crisis, Person of the Year in its rankings. The 16-year-old girl is the youngest person to be recognized. In a viral speech she gave at the UN climate summit in September, she gained international attention for blaming world leaders for their inaction on the climate crisis. She again criticized world leaders at the COP25 conference last week.
Time Magazine with Greta Thunberg on the cover
“Thunberg has become the biggest voice on the planet’s biggest issue and the avatar of a broader generational shift in our culture. This is playing out everywhere from the campuses of Hong Kong to the halls of Congress in Washington.” So wrote Time Magazine editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal.
Each year the magazine profiles the most influential person, group, movement or idea of the last 12 months. Last year it was “The Guardians”. It is a group of journalists who were attacked because of their work. In 2017, it was “The Silence Breakers,” the group of people who came forward to report sexual misconduct. Past Persons of the Year include Adolf Hitler, Ayatollah Khomeini and Joseph Stalin.
“We describe it as the person who most influenced some events during the year, for better or for worse. But I really think that time is about the people and ideas that shape the world, and Person of the Year is about the people that shape the year,” Felsenthal told CNN Business in an interview this week .
Time for world change
On Wednesday, Felsenthal revealed the Person of the Year on the “Today” show. In this he told more about Thunberg's rise from nothing. “She was a lone protester with a hand-painted sign 14 months ago. Greta has influenced millions of people around the world in 150 countriesto act on behalf of the planet. This year's shortlist included Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, whistleblowers and the Hong Kong protesters.
Time Magazine also announced the winners of four new categories. The Athletes of the Year are the athletes from the US women's soccer team. The Entertainer of the Year is Lizzo and the Businessman of the Year is Disney Chairman Bob Iger. After recognizing “The Guardians” last year, Time Magazine created a new category to recognize a different group of “Guardians.” These are the people who have stood up and risked their careers to defend the rule of law.
Public servants in this category include “whistleblower” Marie Yovanovitch, Ambassador William Taylor, Fiona Hill, First Lieutenant Alexander Vindman and Mark Sandy. According to Felsenthal, Time Magazine chose to select category winners instead of partially recognizing runners-up. This is because the magazine is now independent and no longer part of a conglomerate.
Salesforce Chairman Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne Benioff bought Meredith Corp.'s Time Magazine last year. bought. “All the titles at Time Inc. started outside of time, and then we were part of a company. That was great, but now we are on our own in this moment where we can reclaim that legacy. These are all areas that we cover. I always reported on it, but within Time Inc. there were some restrictions on what we could do.
