[x]

Henry Luce, the publisher of Time, was a major Republican figure, so the magazine had the reputation of being more conservative than Newsweek, which had always been more liberal and closer to the Democrats. US News was more conservative than either magazine in those days, but wasn't a strong competitor to Time or its imitator Newsweek. Lawrence's magazine wasn't big on pictures or graphics, like the other magazines.

Writers at Time and other liberals complained about Luce the way they complain about Murdoch today, to the point where many thought there was some major cultural divide between the brutish, philistine Luce and the sensitive, creative writers. But it was all about politics. Once the writers were cut loose from Luce's rule, there wasn't any great rise in the magazine's quality -- if anything, quality declined over time.

[expat2]

Yes. You are well-informed, and correct.

[Ohioan]

You are quite right about the publisher of Time, Life & Fortune. Luce's wife was a Republican Senator, as you will recall, and a featured speaker at Republican Conventions, before she ran for the Senate.

U.S. News was certainly less tabloidy than Time or Newsweek, and its readership was more business oriented. Its circulation, as I recall was somewhat lower than Times', but not really dramatically lower. They simply appealed to a different demographic.