To Our Readers

By Walter Isaacson, Managing Editor

Corporate welfare's burden on the American taxpayer is a widespread yet underinvestigated problem, as Don Barlett and Jim Steele learned during their 18-month investigation of the subject. Just how that burden chafes became even more evident to the prize winning journalists soon after their four-part series on the topic debuted two weeks ago. "We've received at least a dozen very substantial tips and examples from people around the country who are very passionate about this dilemma and felt no one else was listening," says Barlett. "It's a measure of how strongly people feel about this subject." In addition to pleasing readers, the series has garnered favorable attention from other media outlets. On its editorial page the Boston Herald wrote, "This could refocus the spotlight on an issue that attracted notice two years ago when Congress was reforming individual welfare, but slipped off the national radar screen when that reform was enacted." Molly Ivins, in her syndicated column, wrote, "To what depth, breadth and height can corporate welfare reach?...Barlett and Steele not only dug out the answers, they dug out still more astonishing information...This is my idea of extraordinary political journalism--investigating the real effects of politics on our lives." The third installment of the series, on corporate welfare's environmental costs, appears in this week's issue.

Douglas Waller's book Air Warriors, published in June, follows the two-year training course of would-be Navy pilots. In researching the book, Waller flew with aviators now stationed in the Persian Gulf. "I can imagine how their hearts are racing," says Waller, our State Department correspondent. "Catapulting off a carrier and landing on it are almost as dangerous as combat." Waller's previous book, Commandos, was based on his reporting on Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the resulting Gulf War, which gave him an especially informed perspective as he covered last week's showdown with Saddam Hussein.

Joshua Cooper Ramo, who oversaw our coverage of the tussle with Saddam, has been editing TIME's World section for six weeks, and so far he loves it. "The hours are lethal, but it's a blast to go to bed talking to Tokyo and wake up to a call from Belgrade," he says. Ramo, who also edits TIME Digital, our bimonthly supplement about technology, says the joy of covering international news comes from marrying the best reporting with sharp thinking and memorable writing. "Our value is in helping people understand how and why the world is changing, not in retelling last week's news."

WALTER ISAACSON, Managing Editor