A Changing TIME

I'm not telling you anything you don't know when I say the media world is changing. But as technology evolves and new ways of delivering information emerge, some things don't change. TIME'S core commitment to explaining the world through great writing, reporting and pictures remains steadfast. In fact, I would argue that in this new dizzying forest of information, it's become even more important to have a trusted guide.

The most immediate change is right in front of you. The issue you are holding in your hands--or perhaps you're reading this online--is the first issue of TIME with our new on-sale day, Friday. In fact, it's the first copy of TIME magazine to go on sale on Friday in more than 50 years. We've moved our publication schedule because the news environment has shifted and because we've been listening to you. Over and over, we've heard from subscribers that they get the magazine early in the week and then put it aside to read on the weekend. The solution was pretty simple: let's get you the magazine on the weekend when you want it.

At the same time, I believe that getting the magazine on newsstands on Friday helps us set the news agenda, not just mirror it. The traditional newsmagazine was retrospective, looking back at what happened the previous week. But today's TIME is much more forward-looking, offering you guidance on what's essential to know going forward. Many news sources give you information; we provide knowledge and meaning.

The new publication date reflects the way the Internet is affecting pretty much everything about the news business. Today our print magazine and TIME.com are complementary halves of the TIME brand. Starting on Jan. 8, you will see a different TIME.com We've given the site a long-overdue face-lift, and you will find a sharp, dynamic, constantly updated news site within a new but familiar red border. You'll see more space to show off our world-class photography, our superb writers and columnists, and now you can start your day by checking our news blog, The Ag, which smartly aggregates and summarizes the most important stories from daily newspapers and blogs around the world.

This issue contains some new sections and departments that reflect our determination to bring you a regular roster of voices and experts on the most vital ideas and subjects under the sun. We are inaugurating a regular history section, which will put today's news in the context of relevant historical events. Our first section was penned by the great modern historian and Harvard University professor Niall Ferguson, who shows how an act of terrorism in 1914 sparked a worldwide fiscal crisis, and wonders whether history could repeat itself in 2007.

This week marks the beginning of our regular Going Green section, which recognizes not only how important the environment is to people around the world but also how green businesses will be a fundamental engine of change in the 21st century. In his first column, Bryan Walsh, our Tokyo bureau chief, argues that companies have converted to environmentalism not out of a sense of virtue but because it helps the bottom line.