MEDIA LEAD SHEET/JUNE 16, 2008 ISSUE (on newsstands Monday June 9, 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.

COVER: “A New Kind of Recession” (p. 21). Senior Editor Daniel Gross writes that the upbeat forecasts for a quick economic turnaround were proven wrong when the Labor Department reported that 49,000 jobs were cut in May, the fifth straight month of job losses, which inspired a 394-point decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. But despite the grim news of a looming recession, there is hope that the second half of 2008 will be better. That is, if we take a different approach than in the past. “While the treatment of the current malaise has been essentially identical to the reaction to the 2001 slump…the symptoms are quite different,” Gross writes. Although some “3 million jobs were shed between 2001 and 2003, consumers soldiered on through the downturn…This time, it’s the opposite. While businesses—especially those that export—are holding up, the economy is being dragged down by the cement shoes of a freaked-out consumer and a punk housing market.” As a part of the cover package, Newsweek gathered a number of business experts and asked them to assess the country’s current financial situation and offer solutions. Participants included Larry Lindsey, former governor of the Federal Reserve and former economic adviser to President George W. Bush; Robert Reich, secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton; Robert Rubin, Treasury secretary under Clinton, now chairman of the Citi executive committee; Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com; and Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience at Google.

Cover:

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Newsweek’s Business Roundtable

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DANIEL GROSS: “Eighty Is the New Fifty” (p. 18). Gross writes that the recent, headline-grabbing exploits of aging financial giants such as Warren Buffett, Carl Ichan, Sumner Redstone, George Soros and Jack Welch make the retirement age of 65 seem like a relic. These “Sunshine Boys,” as Gross calls them, “have experience managing through the last serious oil shock and prolonged period of financial pain in the 1970s.” Although there is still enormous resistance and unwillingness to consider older people for jobs, those attitudes may be changing. CT Partners, the executive search firm, recently conducted an unscientific poll on its Web site, asking managers whether they’d hire a 72-year-old CEO. The answer was yes, by a margin of 55-45 percent.

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POLITICS: “Out And Down” (p. 31). National Correspondent Suzanne Smalley reports that if history is any guide, Hillary Clinton’s next battle will be with the painful reality of losing a hard-fought campaign. Clinton’s political career, however, is far from over. She can go back to the Senate and perhaps play a leading role in winning a massive health care bill for the Obama administration, or run for governor of New York in 2010. For now, the real question is probably not whether Clinton will crash, but how hard and for how long.

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INTERVIEW: “How to Beat a Rock Star: ‘Substance’” (p. 34). White House Correspondent Holly Bailey interviews Republican presidential candidate John McCain and asks about Iraq, pre-war intelligence, the upcoming general election, and what his strategy will be in taking on Barack Obama. “The strategy is the themes of reform, prosperity and peace, and I have the experience, background and a record and the kind of judgment to lead the country through extremely difficult times…But I think it’s got to do with substance, and it’s got to do with a concrete plan of action for the future of the country,” McCain said.

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JUSTICE: “Is This Terror On Trial?” (p. 38). Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff and Deputy Washington Bureau Chief Dan Ephron report on the arraignment proceedings against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other Al Qaeda men allegedly responsible for the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Gitmo justice has already been tarnished by the detainees’ long, secret imprisonment and alleged torture. Capt. Prescott Prince, Mohammed’s military lawyer, told Newsweek before last week’s hearing he would challenge as inadmissible any evidence submitted by the prosecution that is based on his client’s confessions over the years. Prosecutors say FBI “clean teams” have reinterrogated the defendants in the past 18 months, providing what they hope the judge, Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann, will accept as untainted evidence.

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JONATHAN ALTER: “The Great Mentioner at Work” (p. 39). Senior Editor Jonathan Alter writes that the process of selecting a running mate for Barack Obama may be challenging. For this process, “he should think of the office…as a curriculum with three subjects: Geography, Chemistry and International Relations. Anyone who can meet at least some of these requirements merits inclusion on the list fancifully floated by what Russell Baker calls ‘The Great Mentioner.’” Alter weighs the pros and cons of potential running mates such as Sen. Jim Webb, Gov. Tim Kaine, Gov. Bill Richardson and Sen. Hillary Clinton.

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PAKISTAN: “Where ‘The Land Is on Fire’” (p. 42) South Asia Bureau Chief Ron Moreau reports on why many of the roughly 2,000 villagers of Damadola, in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal agency of Bajaur, near the Afghan border, have been living in fear of American Predator strikes since 2006. Pakistan’s new civilian leadership is complaining that U.S. strikes in the region—and the collateral damage they’ve caused—are making the job of pacifying the area harder. Villagers in Damadola say it’s hard to say no to men with guns, especially when many are your neighbors and relatives. It’s even tougher in Pakistan’s tribal areas, where the Pashtuns’ ancient ethical code requires that every visitor be treated hospitably.

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SOCIETY: “Revenge of the Nerdette” (p. 44). Associate Editor Jessica Bennett and Assistant Editor Jennie Yabroff report on Tufts University’s Nerd Girls, a group of coeds challenging the notion of what a geek should look like, by sexing up their personas, or by finding no disconnect between their geeky pursuits and more traditionally girly interests. The Nerd Girls consciously tweak the two chief archetypes of geeks: that they’re unattractive outcasts, and that they’re male.

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ART: “The Lady and the Ramp” (p. 50). Senior Writer Peter Plagens reviews Louise Bourgeois retrospective exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum. The museum features more than 150 of the 96-year-old artist’s sculptures, installations, drawings and prints. Bourgeois’s art is a succession of modernist and postmodernist styles. They make sense as a continuum only when seen in the long view. Which is why this retrospective is so essential.

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TIP SHEET: “I Need a Hero—For Hire”  (p. 53). General Editor N’Gai Croal reviews Konami Games’ Metal Gear Solid 4, whose major themes derive from a most unlikely place: President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1961 farewell address warning against the dangers of the military-industrial complex. MGS 4 isn’t the only game looking skeptically at the post-9/11 corporatization of military functions, but it’s by far the most thoughtful, even if its premise is not particularly original.                  

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