ABSTRACT
Magazines are distinct among mainstream American journalistic media because of their editorial voice, a kind of conversational style that develops over time between staff (editors and writers) and audience. A magazine speaks on behalf of an imagined community, whether that community is defined by sports-team loyalty, fashion style, religious affiliation, or regional residence. While they aimed to reach broad audiences, the three leading US newsmagazines in 2001—Time, Newsweek, and US News & World Report—also had voices, each one in its own way attempting to speak on behalf of the nation. And they did so without reserve during the first weeks after September 11. This episode in their long institutional histories was the first time since World War II that newsmagazines had so openly defined and discussed American identity.
