(NEW YORK, NY, December 6, 2017)—Today, TIME, published by Time Inc., names “The Silence Breakers” the 2017 Person of the Year. time.com/poy. #TIMEPOY

TIME Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal writes, “The galvanizing actions of the women on our cover…along with those of hundreds of others, and of many men as well, have unleashed one of the highest-velocity shifts in our culture since the 1960s. Social media acted as a powerful accelerant; the hashtag #MeToo has now been used millions of times in at least 85 countries…. The roots of TIME’s annual franchise—singling out the person or persons who most influenced the events of the year—lie in the so-called great man theory of history, a phrasing that sounds particularly anachronistic at this moment. But the idea that influential, inspirational individuals shape the world could not be more apt this year…. For giving voice to open secrets, for moving whisper networks onto social networks, for pushing us all to stop accepting the unacceptable, The Silence Breakers are the 2017 Person of the Year.”

See the cover: http://bit.ly/2iVXD4R

From the cover story, TIME’s Stephanie Zacharek, Eliana Dockterman and Haley Sweetland Edwards write, “The reckoning appears to have sprung up overnight. But it has actually been simmering for years, decades, centuries. Women have had it with bosses and coworkers who not only cross boundaries but don’t even seem to know that boundaries exist…. These silence breakers have started a revolution of refusal, gathering strength by the day, and in the past two months alone, their collective anger has spurred immediate and shocking results: nearly every day, CEOs have been fired, moguls toppled, icons disgraced. In some cases, criminal charges have been brought….Emboldened by Judd, Rose McGowan and a host of other prominent accusers, women everywhere have begun to speak out about the inappropriate, abusive and in some cases illegal behavior they’ve faced.”

Full cover story: http://ti.me/2AvIspu

Edward Felsenthal’s essay on why TIME chose “The Silence Breakers”: http://ti.me/2iY0wSS

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Plus: TIME names the Person of the Year shortlist:

No. 2 – Donald Trump http://ti.me/2AYz664 
No. 3 – Xi Jinping http://ti.me/2Ad8oaq 
No. 4 – Robert Mueller http://ti.me/2AY3kGy 
No. 5 – Kim Jong Un http://ti.me/2iZuhm3 
No. 6 – Colin Kaepernick http://ti.me/2AA72mZ 
No. 7 – Patty Jenkins http://ti.me/2zUTwsT

The December 18, 2017 Person of the Year issue of TIME goes on sale on newsstands Friday, December 8.

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Time Inc. (NYSE:TIME) is a leading multi-platform consumer media company that engages over 230 million consumers globally every month. The company's influential brands include PEOPLE, TIME, FORTUNE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, INSTYLE, REAL SIMPLE, SOUTHERN LIVING and TRAVEL + LEISURE, as well as approximately 60 diverse international brands. Time Inc. offers marketers a differentiated proposition in the marketplace by combining its powerful brands, trusted content, audience scale, direct relationships with consumers and unique first-party data. The company is home to growing media platforms and extensions, including digital video, OTT, television, licensing, international markets, paid products and services and celebrated live events, such as the TIME 100, FORTUNE Most Powerful Women, PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED’s Sportsperson of the Year, the ESSENCE Festival and the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen.