Time names its 100 most influential people of 2017

CTV News Channel: Selecting the most influential Time Magazine Assistant Managing Editor Ben Goldberger speaks about the challenges in selecting the list of 100 most influential people.

Time Magazine has revealed its 100 most influential people of 2017.

The special issue is comprised of five worldwide covers that each feature a member of the Time 100 list: Singer John Legend, actress Viola Davis, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, philanthropist Melinda Gates and actor/rapper Riz Ahmed.

The annual list runs the gamut of pioneers, artists and icons, from Emma Stone to Julian Assange, RuPaul to LeBron James and Pope Francis to Vladimir Putin.

Time assistant managing editor Jeff Goldberger told CTV News Channel on Thursday, that breaking down the list into five different covers was a complex process.

“It’s a simple idea that is actually incredibly hard to pull off, and it’s one that takes us essentially all year,” Goldberger said. “It’s a conversation that we start having initially among editors but then it’s broadened to alumni of the lists, our correspondents around the world, and even readers with our online poll.”

Goldberger said they “hash out” the list by looking at influencers in “all different manner of different spheres.”

Notably, the 2017 list featured several prominent figures from U.S. President Donald Trump’s inner circle, including his daughter Ivanka and her husband and presidential adviser Jared Kushner, aide Steve Bannon and White House chief of staff Reince Priebus.

“This was a president who pledged to completely upend how the White House has been run in modern history, essentially,” Goldberger said. “And these are his core allies that are enabling that, whether he will actually pull it off or whether they will survive given just how much palace intrigue there’s been, remains to be seen but there’s no doubt that this core group is incredibly influential.”

But the list isn’t relegated to just those who hold power in elected office.

“It’s also about people shaping what we eat, what we wear, what we listen to, what we watch,” Goldberger said.

Canadians on the list

Three Canadians are among the Time 100, including actor Ryan Reynolds, author Margaret Atwood and comedian and TV host Samantha Bee.

Justin Trudeau, who has graced international magazine covers nearly the world over since being elected prime minister of Canada 18 months ago, did not make the list this year, but Goldberger said he suspects that he “will make his way back onto the list in the years to come.”

He added: “While there is a case to be made for virtually every world leader, we didn’t want to put them on simply as a matter of course.”