How D.W. Pine Produced 1000 TIME Magazine Covers

Nancy Gibbs

TIME’s newsroom always hummed with energy, curiosity, creativity—and D.W.’s office was its nerve center. There was something magical about having a sometimes random mix of writers, editors, passersby, curled around D.W.’s screen staring into his creative process.

We watched as he swapped images; we litigated cover lines; we argued fiercely over fairness, clarity, the choice between seizing the moment and playing for history. Through so many years, so many stories, D.W. was our teacher and conscience, able to translate even vague ideas into unforgettably sharp images—and often providing just the right cover line as well. 

He was an editor’s dream; I remember one very high-stakes news cycle, when we had a rare division about what to put on the cover. We were close to deadline, the editors were deadlocked; when I sought refuge in D.W.’s office, he told me he thought I might decide I needed an alternative, and pulled out an entirely new cover image that he had commissioned overnight. Which was brilliant. And went on to win awards for the cover of the year.