I used to look forward to Time magazine arriving, but no more | Opinion

Time magazine is celebrating its centennial this year, and I have been reading it for 69 of those years. I am sure it was in my high school library, but I never noticed it there. When I joined the Army in 1954, some of the guys sat around discussing issues that it reported. I chose to not be left out and began reading it, too.

The magazine broached so many subjects of interest without going into great detail. The articles discussed world affairs, doings in Washington, D.C., and local items that grabbed our attention. It mentioned the movies we should see, the books to read and the cities to visit. In capsule form, it had something for everyone.

I especially enjoyed the letters from readers who shared their points of view. Its "Person of the Year" issue was always a must-read. It seemed that the week was too long before my Time magazine arrived.

I couldn't wait for it to come so I could examine the results of elections. As an avid moviegoer, I eagerly awaited the clever reviews of films by its movie critics. It wasn't often that Black people appeared on the cover of Time in those days, so I saved every issue that had one.

I made sure to keep those with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Muhammad Ali and others as the years came and went. I suppose I have all of those with President Barack Obama, Congressman John Lewis and those with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Milestones page often features the passing of a famous individual. Whether a politician, world leader, activist or entertainer, the reader gets a good glimpse of his or her contribution to society. Since 1975 I have kept scrapbooks of the death notices of stars of radio, movies, stage and television. When they don't appear in the local newspaper, I can usually find them in Time.

As I read the articles and agreed or disagreed with the content, I would write a letter in response. I was quite surprised when one of my letters appeared in the Sept. 9, 1977, issue of Time. I had responded to an article about childhood poverty in the United States, citing my experience growing up in the Bottom.

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I was captured by the magazine's head-on reporting that helped me better understand the issues in our country and the world. But things change, and so did Time magazine. I began to notice it when the letters to the editor became so condensed they were not worth reading. Even the style of writing changed. There was a time when I had to get my dictionary to understand the meaning of a word, but not so much now.

I guess the magazine is not as interested in reporting factual information as it did when I began reading it. Too many issues take up most of the pages with "Top 100 personalities" of one kind or another. Today as I thumb through it, I don't find a lot of interesting reading. There are no letters to the editor and very little history behind the news. There was a time when I subscribed to several magazines, but Time is the only one still on my list.

That anticipation of its arrival no longer exists. Sometimes it take me a week to get around to reading it.

Robert J. Booker is a freelance writer and former executive director of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center. He may be reached at 865-546-1576.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Time magazine has changed for the worse | Opinion