--- title: Person of the Year 2020 Issue: Go Behind the Scenes description: The selection of Person of the Year is rarely easy, and this year was far more difficult than most, writes Edward Felsenthal. canonical: https://time.com/5919494/person-of-the-year-2020-editors-letter/ author: Edward Felsenthal article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-12-11T03:52:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:42:27.025Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Behind the Scenes of TIME's 2020 Person of the Year Issue og:description: The selection of Person of the Year is rarely easy, and this year was far more difficult than most og:url: https://time.com/5919494/person-of-the-year-2020-editors-letter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt978c624ee730075f/698a151786f68eb7656ef7d6/poy.8covergrid2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4500 og:image:height: 2531 og:image:alt: poy.8covergrid2 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Behind the Scenes of TIME's 2020 Person of the Year Issue twitter:description: The selection of Person of the Year is rarely easy, and this year was far more difficult than most twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt978c624ee730075f/698a151786f68eb7656ef7d6/poy.8covergrid2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Behind the Scenes of TIME's 2020 Person of the Year Issue > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: Issa Rae on the Meaning Behind Time's Person of the Year [Watch (HLS stream): Issa Rae on the Meaning Behind Time's Person of the Year](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dngLBrLo.m3u8) (1:59)  _Published 2020-12-11. Time's Person of the Year is not an award, it is a marker of history as it's written, whether good or bad. Issa Rae introduces the first-ever television broadcast of Time's Person of the Year_  by [Edward Felsenthal](https://time.com/author/edward-felsenthal/)  ## Edward Felsenthal Felsenthal is the Executive Chairman and former Editor in Chief of TIME. Dec 11, 2020 3:52 AM UTC   by [Edward Felsenthal](https://time.com/author/edward-felsenthal/)  ## Edward Felsenthal Felsenthal is the Executive Chairman and former Editor in Chief of TIME. Dec 11, 2020 3:52 AM UTC In the fall of any normal year, we pack a conference room at TIME’s headquarters in New York City with reporters, producers and editors to debate who should be selected as [Person of the Year](https://time.com/4586372/time-person-of-the-year-facts/), one of the most-watched franchises in journalism, one that has endured world wars and depressions, periods of conflict and years of peace—and now a global pandemic. This year, we held the meeting from our homes in cities around the world. Like so many of you, we’ve been working remotely and collaborating virtually. We met one another’s families and pets as they popped into the camera; shared joys, concerns and anxieties; cared for and sometimes lost loved ones to this [terrible disease](https://time.com/5913620/covid-third-wave/). Some things did stay the same. As we’ve done for the past 93 years, different teams of journalists were launched on parallel projects for Person of the Year, without knowing who or what the ultimate choice would be. This year—as in 2016, when [Donald Trump became Person of the Year](https://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2016-donald-trump/) following his victory—offered the additional dimension of a U.S. presidential election concluding around the time we normally start to lock in decisions. Collaboration is a hallmark of our team, and it is not overstatement to say that nearly everyone at TIME touched this project. The many pieces were overseen by executive editor Ben Goldberger, joined by an editorial committee that included Naina Bajekal, Lori Fradkin, Mahita Gajanan and Victor Williams. They kept everything together at a time when we were all kept apart. “There was a special resonance to this year’s project,” says Ben, “because we were living so many of these stories as we were telling them.” --- As the world transformed in 2020, so did we. One of the great privileges of working here is the opportunity to be in conversation with [TIME’s history](https://time.com/5047813/person-of-the-year-history/)—and to build on it. As the nation celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, we introduced [Women of the Year](https://time.com/100-women-of-the-year/), a multimedia effort recognizing a century’s worth of women who belong among Person of the Year’s historic company. We also introduced our first [Kid of the Year](https://time.com/5916772/kid-of-the-year-2020/), working with our colleagues at TIME for Kids and with Nickelodeon to spotlight remarkable children across the U.S. One of those kids, 14-year-old artist Tyler Gordon, [painted the portrait of LeBron James](https://time.com/5919500/person-of-the-year-2020-behind-covers/), TIME’s [2020 Athlete of the Year](https://time.com/athlete-of-the-year-2020-lebron-james/), on one of the covers of this issue.  Tyler Gordon, 14, with his painting of Athlete of the Year LeBron James Courtesy Nicole Kindle In our second year after becoming an independent company, under the ownership of Marc and Lynne Benioff, we found new ways to connect with our audiences, such as our [TIME100 Talks virtual events](https://time.com/collection/time100-talks/), and new technologies like Zoom, created by the [2020 Businessperson of the Year Eric Yuan](https://time.com/businessperson-of-the-year-2020-eric-yuan/), that enabled our work. We launched a [TIME for Kids digital-subscription product](https://time.com/5900875/time-for-kids-launches-digital-subscription-home/); prime-time broadcast specials on ABC, Nickelodeon/CBS and NBC; and a variety of new newsletters, which together now reach more than 1.4 million subscribers. We also built new [offerings in health](https://time.com/collection/live-well/) and [personal finance](https://time.com/nextadvisor/). Early in the year, we brought [Martin Luther King Jr. into virtual reality](https://time.com/5784009/martin-luther-king-jr-virtual-reality/). That project, a first-of-its-kind re-creation of the March on Washington, served as a reminder of King’s unfinished work. The urgency of that work became even clearer this summer, as calls to end systemic racism reverberated around the world. This issue tells that story, in part, through our 2020 Guardians of the Year: [racial-justice organizers](https://time.com/guardians-of-the-year-2020-racial-justice-organizers/) like Assa Traoré in Paris and Porche Bennett-Bey in Kenosha, Wis. Like many companies, TIME has been grappling with what equality means in our own workplace. We’ve committed to our audiences and to our team to do more to amplify underrepresented voices in our coverage and to support Black employees and staff members from marginalized groups in our newsroom and our company. We are working to make TIME an equitable, diverse and inclusive organization. As I wrote earlier this year, we know that will make TIME stronger. --- On Dec. 7, I traveled with Washington bureau chief Massimo Calabresi, senior correspondent Charlotte Alter, photo director Katherine Pomerantz, executive producer Jonathan Woods and others to meet with [President-elect Joe Biden](https://time.com/5919491/joe-biden-person-of-the-year-interview/) and [Vice President–elect ](https://time.com/5919490/kamala-harris-person-of-the-year-interview/)[Kamala Harris](https://time.com/5919490/kamala-harris-person-of-the-year-interview/) at the Queen Theater in Wilmington, Del. We talked with them about the challenges of conducting a transition in the pandemic and about those ahead. From our distance of 16 ft., I asked Biden how much remote work and other aspects of our pandemic lives would continue once it was over. “I think we’re going to get back to the ability to embrace one another,” he said. “I think that’s important.” At one point, Biden stopped the proceedings to do that virtually by FaceTiming with the parents of our photographer Camila Falquez.  Jason Seiler in his Chicago studio. Courtesy Jason Seiler The [selection of Person of the Year](https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2020-joe-biden-kamala-harris-choice/) is rarely easy, and this year was far more difficult than most. Predictions can make fools of all of us, but it seems safe to say that historians will look at 2020 as a crucial turning point on many fronts. In [Joe Biden and Kamala Harris](https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2020-joe-biden-kamala-harris/), we have two individuals whose election mirrored and moved the major stories of this year and whose fates will shape the nation’s role in the world and the future of the American experiment. _This article is part of TIME’s 2020_ [_Person of the Year_](https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2020-joe-biden-kamala-harris-choice) _issue._ [_Read more_](https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2020-joe-biden-kamala-harris) _and sign up for the_ [_Inside TIME newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters?newsletter%5Fname=INSIDE%5FTIME&source=poy-article) _to be among the first to see our cover every week._ ## Transcript Kind: captions Language: en-US Time goes by so fast. We did it Joe. The people of this nation have spoken. But on the other hand, some times just don't seem to go fast enough. We need to bend the curve. 200,00 dead. This year has had millions on the edge of their seats braced for impact, seatbelts fastened up no need for a script, the facts are enough. Still we've had to adjust. Not only to the consistent turmoil on the news we all watch but to the collective anxiety we've all got. 200,00 Americans killed by the coronavirus. The feeling we have now and have had since the second the ball dropped. Rumor-turn-pandemic in a matter of weeks before we were in long lines at the polls we were crowded in the streets forced to march for our peace. And to say the least, it's been a year. And not unlike the past 93 years TIME has consistently shown the world what the word influence means. TIME's Person of the Year is not an award. It is a marker. A prism through which we watch from our own individual sections of the spectrum. It is reflection. History as it's written. Whether good or bad. And tonight we'll encapsulate 2020 for years to come. Highlighting individuals that kept us in awe. Others that made us think. Divided we fall. Those whose vision impacted the world with great success. Those who we may not agree with but history won't let us forget. We'll take a look at an athlete, an entertainer A business leader and those that are guardians of truth. At a moment when we need them most. Finally, we'll highlight the not only influential but also impactful Person of the Year. 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