Time's famous red border represents a daring, even arrogant notion. We translate information into knowledge every week in the magazine and every day on TIME.com via rigorous thought, writing, reporting, and compelling visuals. The basic principle that has always animated TIME is separating the important from the inconsequential. In a sense, everything else is commentary on that idea. If you read the news each week, you'll know that we pay special attention to major events while generally staying away from politics (except when they affect us directly). But we also cover arts and entertainment, sports, science, technology, business, world affairs, people, pop culture... the list goes on. The point is that all of these subjects are part of what makes up our daily lives. They all influence who we are as individuals and how we interact with one another. And so by covering them all, we hope to convey the essence of what it means to be human. The border itself is black with white lettering: THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE. This phrase comes from John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, and it's an apt description of what we do at TIME. We try to find the main story within the greater context of current events, and we aim to give it meaningful placement among other news stories. This may sound like a simple task, but it's not.