Edward Kosner (born 1937) is an American journalist and author who served as the top editor of ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', '' New York'' and ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' magazines and the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

''. He is the author of a memoir, ''It's News to Me,'' published in 2006,"It's News to Me," New York, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2006 and is a frequent book reviewer for ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

''.

Early life

Kosner grew up in the Washington Heights neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was the editor of his elementary and junior high school newspapers. At 16, he enrolled at

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

(CCNY), where he was editor-in-chief of the undergraduate newspaper, the ''Campus'', and the CCNY correspondent for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''.

Journalism career

On graduation from CCNY in 1958, Kosner joined the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'', then a liberal tabloid owned by

Dorothy Schiff Dorothy Schiff (March 11, 1903 – August 30, 1989) was an American businesswoman who was the owner and then publisher of the ''New York Post'' for nearly 40 years. She was a granddaughter of financier Jacob Schiff. Schiff was interested in soc ...

."1959 F.B.I. Search of Room of a Newsman is Reported." ''The New York Times'', July 21. 1975 He spent five years at the paper, working on night rewrite, as a series writer, and as an assistant city editor. In 1963, he was hired by ''

'' as a writer in the National Affairs section. His first cover story was on

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

's new life after the assassination of her husband."Jacqueline Kennedy—Looking Ahead," ''Newsweek'', January 6, 1964 Over the next fifteen years, Kosner wrote more than a score of cover stories, started a section on urban problems, and held all the top editorial positions on the magazine under Osborn Elliott. He directed the magazine's extensive coverage of the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

. In 1975, at 37, he was named editor of ''Newsweek''."Kosner Appointed Newsweek Editor," ''The New York Times'', July 31, 1975 During his editorship, the magazine set records for advertising and circulation. But he was dismissed by the magazine's owner,

Katharine Graham Katharine Meyer Graham (June 16, 1917 – July 17, 2001) was an American newspaper publisher. She led her family's newspaper, ''The Washington Post'', from 1963 to 1991. Graham presided over the paper as it reported on the Watergate scandal, wh ...

in 1979,"Newsweek Names New Editor," ''The New York Times'', June 28, 1979 one of five editors of ''Newsweek'' Graham sacked between 1970 and 1984. Early in 1980,

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...

hired Kosner to edit '' New York'' magazine, which he had taken over from founder

Clay Felker Clay Schuette Felker (October 2, 1925 – July 1, 2008) was an American magazine editor and journalist who co-founded '' New York'' magazine in 1968 and ''California'' magazine (first known as ''New West'') in 1976. He was known for bringing nume ...

three years earlier."Kosner, Former Editor of Newsweek, Chosen as Editor of New York," ''The New York Times'', March 1, 1980 Kosner ran ''New York'' for thirteen years, being responsible for the business side of the publication as well as the editorial side for the second half of his tenure. During his time at ''New York'', the magazine set records for advertising sales and profits and won several

National Magazine Awards The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

. While at ''New York'', Kosner served a two-year term as president of the

American Society of Magazine Editors The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) is an industry trade group for magazine journalists and editors of magazines published in the United States. ASME includes the editorial leaders of most major consumer magazine in print and digital ...

. In 1991, Murdoch sold ''New York'' and other magazines to a group headed by financier

Henry Kravis Henry Roberts Kravis (born January 6, 1944) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist.Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', the men's magazine, which he ran until 1997."Three Editors Go to Esquire", ''The New York Times'', Dec.6, 1993"Hearst Names New Top Editor to Turn Esquire Around", ''The New York Times'', May 30, 1997 The next year, Kosner joined the ''

'', the largest tabloid in the U.S., to create and edit a new Sunday edition."Sunday News Gets Bigger", ''The New York Times'', Feb. 22, 1999 In 2000, Mortimer B. Zuckerman, the ''Newss owner, promoted him to editor-in-chief of the daily paper.Jacques Steinburg
"Editor of Daily News to Retire in March"
''The New York Times''. July 23, 2003 Over the next four years, Kosner oversaw the tabloid's coverage of a run of major stories, including the "tied" 2000 Presidential election between

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

and

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

, on page one for forty consecutive days, the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

and their aftermath, and the subsequent wars in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. Kosner retired from the ''News'' in 2004 after a falling out with Zuckerman. In 2006, he published his journalistic memoir, ''It's News to Me''. He began reviewing books for ''

'' in 2007."Celebrity Society's Secret History," ''The Wall Street Journal'', April 12. 2007

Personal life

Kosner married Alice Nadel in 1959. They had two children,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, born in 1960, and Anthony, born in 1962. The couple divorced in 1977. Marquis Who's Who Since 1978, Kosner has been married to Julie Baumgold, a novelist and magazine writer."Edward Kosner of Newsweek Weds Julie Baumgold, Writer," ''The New York Times'', Nov. 20, 1978 They have a daughter, Lily, born in 1981.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kosner, Edward 1937 births Living people 20th-century American newspaper editors 21st-century American newspaper editors Esquire (magazine) people Newsweek people New York (magazine) people New York Daily News people New York Post people Watergate scandal investigators City College of New York alumni Journalists from New York City People from Washington Heights, Manhattan Presidents of the American Society of Magazine Editors