MEDIA LEAD SHEET/JUNE 2, 2008 ISSUE (on newsstands Monday, May 26, 2008). To book correspondents, contact Brenda Velez at 212-445-4078—Brenda.Velez@Newsweek.com, Grace Huh at 212-445-5831—Grace.Huh@Newsweek.com—or Jan Angilella at 212-445-5638—Jan.Angilella@Newsweek.com. Articles are posted on www.Newsweek.com. **The Newsweek Communications Office will be closed on Monday, May 26.
COVER: “Obama, Race and Us” (p.22). A team of Newsweek correspondents offer an open memo to Democratic candidate Barack Obama with suggestions on how he can overcome race issues and convince doubters of all skin colors or backgrounds that they will be better off during an Obama presidency than a John McCain presidency. Obama’s success on the campaign trail indicates that the United States may be ready to elect its first non-white president. A recent Newsweek poll, however, suggests that although he is poised to secure the Democratic nomination, Obama is still facing problems winning over white voters. The cover package also includes essays on how the issue of race might play out in the election.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/138611
Essays:
Harold Ford Jr.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/138511
Ellis Cose
http://www.newsweek.com/id/138512
Richard Rodriguez
http://www.newsweek.com/id/138513
Marjorie Valbrun
http://www.newsweek.com/id/138514
DANIEL GROSS: “Don’t Bet on the President” (p. 14). Senior Writer Daniel Gross writes that personal-finance magazines and investment analysts are constructing political portfolios: market sectors or stocks that will thrive, or dive, should a particular candidate take the White House. The problem with this is that “like party conventions, these portfolios are a storied convention of campaign season. Like party conventions, they’re not very useful or illuminating,” Gross writes. “Political market calls are conceived in sin, since most are based on the false premise that the stock market prefers Republicans to Democrats. According to Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at Standard & Poor’s Equity Research, between 1945 and 2007 the S&P 500 rose 10.7 percent annually when Democrats occupied the White House, compared with a 7.6 percent annual increase under Republicans.”
http://www.newsweek.com/id/138502
POLITICS: “An Answer for Every ‘Little Jerk’” (p. 27). White House Correspondent Holly Bailey reports on Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s health records. Last week, after some delay, McCain, who turns 72 on Aug. 29, allowed a small pool of reporters to examine more than 400 pages of recent medical records. According to the files, he has suffered no recurrence of the melanoma doctors removed from his left temple in 2000 or an unrelated malignant spot from the left side of his nose. Doctors revealed that McCain occasionally suffers from “positional vertigo”—which lasts two to five seconds when the senator stands up. Dr. John Eckstein, a Mayo internist who has been McCain’s personal physician for 16 years, called it “harmless” and says “he is healthy, he is vigorous, and he can fulfill the obligation of any job, including president of the United States.”
http://www.newsweek.com/id/138613
JONATHAN ALTER: “How We Really Help Ted” (p. 31). Senior Editor and Columnist Jonathan Alter writes that Sen. Ted Kennedy will tap into his fighting sprit in dealing with his brain tumor. “Only three days after learning that he was suffering from a malignant and inoperable brain tumor, Kennedy was already on his boat near the family compound at Hyannis Port, determined once again to sail against the wind,” Alter writes and adds that today men like Kennedy and Jimmy Carter “offer priceless lessons in how to overcome endless adversity and deep unpopularity and go on to lead redemptive and joyful lives that touch millions. Their example might also get us into a new war we desperately need—a war to save the more than 500,000 Americans who die every year of cancer.”
http://www.newsweek.com/id/138510
JUSTICE: “A Secret Side to The Secret Service” (p. 32). Investigative Correspondent Mark Hosenball and Washington Correspondent Eve Conant report on the discrimination lawsuit against the Secret Service brought by 10 current and former African-American agents including a sergeant who, while setting up for drills at a facility, found a noose, hanging from the railing of an overhead staircase. Their testimony states that white superiors routinely passed them over for promotion, while less-qualified whites rose more quickly to senior positions. Some who complained, they say, found their careers stalled. The agents are seeking a maximum of $300,000 per officer in damages, but say they are mostly interested in forcing the agency to change its ways.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/138612
INTERNATIONAL: “A Jihad Between Neighbors” (p. 34). South Asia Bureau Chief Ron Moreau reports on the estimated hundreds of young Pakistani militants that have crossed into Afghanistan. Although it’s impossible to pin the numbers down precisely, Western diplomats, NATO brass and U.S. military sources all say there’s been a “significant increase” in cross-border attacks and traffic since March, and it worries them. One detail is especially troublesome: the burst of insurgent activity has coincided with Pakistani government efforts to cut a peace deal with tribal militants who have tormented Pakistan with kidnappings and suicide bombings since last summer. The gates have been left wide open from South Waziristan into Afghanistan, and the Taliban’s friends are running wild.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/138507
BUSINESS: “Mortgages and Madness” (p. 38). Senior Editor Michael Hirsh reports on the questionable lending practices that turned a working-class Cleveland neighborhood into a blighted slum. Hundreds of lenders, securitizers and brokers are being investigated by the FBI, IRS, state attorneys general and county authorities nationwide for their respective roles in this global confidence game, which authorities are just beginning to piece together.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/138503
CULTURE: “The Dumbest Generation? Don’t Be Dumb.” (p. 42). Senior Editor Sharon Begley and Health Reporter Jeneen Interlandi examine some the points made by author and Emory University English professor Mark Bauerlein’s in his new book “The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don’t Trust Anyone Under 30).” They argue that Generation Y may not be as dumb as he claims. If Bauerlein defines “dumbest” as “holding the least knowledge,” then he has a case. Gen Y cares less about knowing information than knowing where to find information. But if dumb means lacking such fundamental cognitive capacities as the ability to think critically and logically, to analyze an argument, to learn and remember, to see analogies, to distinguish fact from opinion…well, here Bauerlein is on shakier ground.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/138536
DESIGN: “A Building for a Song” (p. 51). Associate Editor Brian Braiker reports on Talking Heads’ David Byrne’s latest project to turn a New York City landmark into a musical instrument. The project, called “Playing the Building,” uses a humble antique organ in the middle of a decaying 9,000-square-foot beaux-arts hall connecting it to a couple of dozen spots throughout the structure. One could conceivably play a little tune with the building, “but,” says Byrne, “that’s not really the point.”
http://www.newsweek.com/id/138378
TIP SHEET: “How to Get a Leg Up for Fitness” (p. 52). Special Correspondent Christina Gillham reports on the growing field of wellness coaches and how they help people tackle such issues as diet, fitness, time management and stress relief, focusing less on diet and exercise regimens and more on long-term behavioral patterns. When hiring a wellness coach, it is recommended that the person be certified by a reputable program like Wellcoaches (wellcoaches.com), which has been endorsed by the American College of Sports Medicine, or have degrees in exercise, nutrition, medicine or mental health, plus one to two years of experience in a fitness-related field.
http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/tipsheet/default.aspx
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