To Our Readers

By BRUCE HALLETT/PRESIDENT

Although they operate in different media, TIME and CBS News have something in common: each institution has made its mark on the way news has been gathered and presented in this century. So when TIME embarked on its project of selecting the 100 Most Influential People of the Century, it was fitting that CBS News join us in producing a companion television series. The TIME 100 will be presented in six special issues and on six CBS News programs over the next two years.

The first installment of this joint venture, Leaders and Revolutionaries, will appear on newsstands on April 6--and on TV screens at 10 o'clock E.T. that evening, when CBS airs its first special. Other segments include Artists and Entertainers; Builders and Titans; Scientists and Thinkers; Heroes and Inspirations; and, finally, Person of the Century.

For CBS' production team, mining the network's vast trove of archival footage was both daunting and eye opening. In their eight months on the project, team members have viewed more than 1,000 hours of footage and done no small amount of globe trotting to chase down rare material, including whimsical portraits of world leaders captured in home movies. Where television footage did not exist, they consulted the 70-year-old CBS radio archive, the National Archives, the Library of Congress and even the archives of foreign governments, such as those of Germany and China. Finally, CBS caught up with some of the individuals themselves, met with family members and landed guest essayists--including President and Mrs. Clinton--to discuss the great leaders and revolutionaries who have shaped their lives.

Viewers will not be looking at a conventional broadcast news set. Instead, CBS News anchor Dan Rather will walk through a computer-generated gallery of some of the century's most luminous and unforgettable faces. "We're using 21st century technology to sum up the 20th century," says Andrew Heyward, president of CBS News. Strolling about electronically among those famous names was thought provoking, says Rather: "Watching the program, participating in discussions and trying to think of candidates for my own private TIME 100, I've had a rare opportunity to reflect on what's important to me in a leader, what actions and qualities I consider truly influential, meaningful and historic."

We invite you to join us in that experience on April 6.