2024 Is Finally Over. Now Let’s Forget That It Ever Happened.

Is it my imagination, or are there fewer “year in review” photo essays this year?

In years past, newspaper editors loved these features because you could prepare them in advance and then run them in December while practically the whole newsroom was out on vacation. But the few that made it into print this year conveyed little enthusiasm.

“Competitive cheer is popular yet dangerous,” said The New York Times. It was talking about cheerleading but sounded uncannily like my Depression-scarred grandmother warning that too much laughter leads to tears. (She really used to say that.) “War seemed to be everywhere,” said The Washington Post. Even inside the Post’s own newsroom! “These photographs,” said Time, “allow us to not only prepare for what is to come, but to imagine something better.” Happy New Year.