Time's Person of the Year honor goes to 'the Ebola fighters,' not Apple CEO Tim Cook
Apple's chief executive was among those spurned by Time Magazine on Wednesday as the publication announced that the 2014 Person of the Year edition will not feature a single person, but instead pay homage to the healthcare workers fighting Ebola in Africa.
"Ebola is a war, and a warning," Time editor Nancy Gibbs wrote of the selection. "The global health system is nowhere close to strong enough to keep us safe from infectious disease, and 'us' means everyone, not just those in faraway places where this is one threat among many that claim lives every day. The rest of the world can sleep at night because a group of men and women are willing to stand and fight."
Joining Cook on the shortlist were Alibaba CEO Jack Ma, Russian President Vladmir Putin, pop star Taylor Swift, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, acting President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani. The protesters in Ferguson, Mo. were also considered as a group alongside Ebola workers.
It is the second time Cook has been considered for the honor, only to be ultimately passed over. He was named a runner up in 2012, when President Barack Obama won.
"Everyone wondered whether he could live up to Steve Jobs's legacy at Apple of reinventing whole categories regularly," Gibbs said of Cook's inclusion earlier this week. "With the Apple Watch, we think he stands a good chance of doing that."
"Ebola is a war, and a warning," Time editor Nancy Gibbs wrote of the selection. "The global health system is nowhere close to strong enough to keep us safe from infectious disease, and 'us' means everyone, not just those in faraway places where this is one threat among many that claim lives every day. The rest of the world can sleep at night because a group of men and women are willing to stand and fight."
Joining Cook on the shortlist were Alibaba CEO Jack Ma, Russian President Vladmir Putin, pop star Taylor Swift, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, acting President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani. The protesters in Ferguson, Mo. were also considered as a group alongside Ebola workers.
It is the second time Cook has been considered for the honor, only to be ultimately passed over. He was named a runner up in 2012, when President Barack Obama won.
"Everyone wondered whether he could live up to Steve Jobs's legacy at Apple of reinventing whole categories regularly," Gibbs said of Cook's inclusion earlier this week. "With the Apple Watch, we think he stands a good chance of doing that."
Comments
It sounds like a death metal tribute band to a certain other group...
Doh! I never considered they would have multiple magazine covers to help push more copies.
Other magazines have done this before.
Probably Playboy, maybe the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Not a new concept in periodical publishing.
Excellent choice by Time.
An appropriate choice.
Maybe this is a sign that the endless and vicarious infatuation with celebrities and wealth will wane. Probably not, but one can hope.
Excellent choice by Time.
Agreed. But AI characterizing this as Cook being "spurned" is absurd. Oftentimes the person of the year is news-making tyrant (e.g., Hitler and Stalin (twice)). It's not a popularity contest.
And why would Tim Cook get the person of the year title? He hasn't done anything that isn't expected out of a quality CEO.
Good choice, but let's also recognize the needless panic and public health costs created by a subset of the self-righteous ones (and their teary-eyed supporters) bringing the virus back to their home countries.
I'm really confused how this was deemed important enough. It was inflated by the media to distract people for a few months, and now it's a non-issue again.
And why would Tim Cook get the person of the year title? He hasn't done anything that isn't expected out of a quality CEO.
Well, Bezos and Facebook guy were each Person of the Year once, so being the CEO of a successful, disruptive tech company is sufficient (ok they were also the founder, and Cook isn't). But of course the real reason he made the short list this year was his "coming out." Gay marriage was a fairly big story this year, so Time could have linked those things together to make the case. But Ebola has been a biggest story by far, so this makes more sense.
Self-righteous - surely you jest.
I'm really confused how this was deemed important enough. It was inflated by the media to distract people for a few months, and now it's a non-issue again.
If it bleeds it leads. Who cares if more people die from the flu (and almost anything else you can think of, at least in the US).
Good choice, but let's also recognize the needless panic and public health costs created by a subset of the self-righteous ones (and their teary-eyed supporters) bringing the virus back to their home countries.
Not to mention endless media stoked "needless panic" that (hmmmm) completely stopped the day after the election.
the decision was a perfectly fine one and i think tim would agree.