Time Person of the Year (Wikipedia) Person of the Year (called Man of the Year or Woman of the Year until 1999) is an annual issue of the American news magazine and website Time featuring a person, a group, idea, or object that “for better or for worse… has done the most to influence the events of the year”. The editors select the featured subject, though the Time website or a partner organization also runs an annual reader’s poll that has no effect on the selection.