By the time Dykman was done, he had a list of over 20 topic possibilities—some of them single-page graphics, others two-page spreads. That was too many. He would keep the list, however; if the project was successful, he might have the opportunity to do it again. The magazine’s editors might commit to the graphics project as an annuity. Another option Editor-at-Large Gibbs had suggested in her original “American Mirror” proposal was a weekly one- or two-page feature, perhaps running for 26 weeks consecutively. The current project was a test of Gibbs’ idea, and could be reused in a variety of ways if it proved popular with readers and advertisers.

But he still had to cut. Dykman knew that his project might end up on the cover, but a typical Time cover story was about 12 or 13 pages long, not 20 plus. Dykman decided to treat the feature as if it would be a cover story or a long inside piece. Where it eventually played depended on whether more urgent news broke the week his story ran. Managing Editor Stengel usually did not select the cover until late in the magazine’s production cycle, often postponing a final decision until Friday, the day before the entire magazine went to the printers. But whether on the cover or inside, Dykman figured he would have space for up to six double-page spreads plus one single—or any other combination that resulted in the same number of pages.

That meant some hard choices. He had to whittle his wish list down to a can-do list. Ideally, he would have liked to spend more time, up to five weeks, researching the themes and choosing those with the most impact—both visual and in terms of information. To help himself better conceptualize the project, he tried to visualize “American Mirror” as a book. What, he wondered, would the first five chapters be? Which themes would make a coherent package? Should there be a unifying principle, and if so, what? What should the tone be: upbeat; educational; sober? He liked the idea of using as a common thread across the spreads correcting common misperceptions about American life. But could he sustain a theme so quirky?

In the end, Dykman decided he did not have the luxury of choosing themes strictly according to his “debunking” criterion. Time and staffing constraints meant that instead he would have to focus on what he could get done by deadline with the staff he had. Still, he made some decisions in an effort to adhere to his “common misperceptions” thread. Politics, he decided, could wait. As a subject, he did not find politics as interesting as Stengel did. Furthermore, the most recent nationwide election had occurred two years before, which meant that he would have to republish old election results that in his view had been more than adequately publicized when it was fresh. He also had no argument to make about politics. “For these kinds of things to work, you have to make an argument,” says Dykman. “In any given election, you can analyze results and look for patterns but, as a statement, I didn’t have one.”

In a first cut, Dykman narrowed his list of themes to nine double-page spreads (18 pages): on demographics, crime, religion, healthcare, education, time use, the military, consumption, and income. From those, he decided to select five—which would give him 10 pages to fill with graphics.

Or, if he chose to do one of the five in a single page he could play with text without adding length. While a bit short for a cover story, that would give him room to expand if he or his editors decided to include some narrative as well.