Was there really a question of who Time magazine was going to name as its person of the year?

Taylor Swift has been a cultural and economic force this year selling music and concert

tickets yes, but also noticeably boosting the economies of whatever cities her

tour stopped in and even adding to the popularity of the NFL by dating a player

and colleges are teaching classes about her.

Yes, other important and of course devastating things happen this year,

but the country and the world seem caught up in Taylor Mania.

To find out what went into the pick, some of the other finalists on the

short list and what it says about the world.

We are joined now by Time magazine Editor-in-Chief.

Sam, Jacob Sam. Welcome to WNYC thanks for coming on on the morning you

released the person of the year. Thank you Brian thrilled to be with you. So is this a

hard decision a wrenching decision?

Well, there are 8 billion people on the planet.

So picking one person who can best represent what happens in any year.

It's never easy, but it was amazing to see over the course of the summer and

fall how a choice that may be surprising to some and in fact Brian if you think

about the history of the franchise,

Taylor Swift is the first person to be recognized as person of the year for her

contribution to the art. While this choice maybe feels inevitable today, as many people have told me

so far this morning, you know, she is an aberration and a departure from the traditional types of people

that a person of the year.

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