(CNN) On Tuesday morning, Time magazine announced that its "Person of the Year" for 2018 was "The Guardians" -- a group of reporters, led by murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, seeking truth around the globe in the face of persistent attempts by governments and radical individuals to stifle their coverage and their voices.

"This ought to be a time when democracy leaps forward, an informed citizenry being essential to self-government. Instead, it's in retreat. Three decades after the Cold War defeat of a blunt and crude autocracy, a more clever brand takes nourishment from the murk that surrounds us. The old-school despot embraced censorship. The modern despot, finding that more difficult, foments mistrust of credible fact, thrives on the confusion loosed by social media and fashions the illusion of legitimacy from supplicants."

The Time cover never makes mention of President Donald Trump. Neither does Vick in that description of both the battle and its stakes. But the President looms over the choice as a silent presence -- a symbolic stand-in for the "war on truth" that Time sees its "guardians" fighting.

It's a fascinating choice, and one meant to send a message. Especially when you consider that whatever you may think of the concept of Time's person of the year (a small group of media elites making a decision about what's best among us etc., etc.), Donald Trump cares deeply about it.

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