James Michaels
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James W. Michaels (June 17, 1921 – October 2, 2007) was an American journalist and magazine editor. Michaels served as the longtime editor of Forbes Magazine from 1961 until his retirement in 1999.[1]
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[edit] Early life
James Michaels was born in Buffalo, New York, on June 17, 1921.[1] He attended Culver Military Academy in Indiana. [2] James then graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1942.[1] Michaels joined the U.S. military during World War II.[1] He worked for the American Field Service and was sent to the AFS Burma India Unit and arrived in Bombay July 1943. He was soon assigned to be an ambulance driver during the war for the British Army.
[edit] Career
James Michaels stayed with the military until September 1944 when he was released to the Office of War Information. After the war, Michaels remained in India and worked for the United Press wire service's New Delhi office. It was that job that gave Michaels the biggest story of his life in 1948 when he broke the story of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. His writing on Gandhi's death are included in the anthology "A Treasury of Great Reporting".[7] Michaels' dispatches from India are still taught in journalism anthologies of model reporting on deadline.[1]
Michaels went on to spend four decades with Forbes magazine. He joined Forbes as a reporter in 1954 and was appointed to managing editor in 1957.[1] He served in that position until 1961 when he was promoted to editor of Forbes Magazine.[1]
James Michael's skill at innovation was demonstrated early in his time at Forbes. In the 1950s he recognized the then new mutual funds industry. Michaels was integral in the development of Forbes' grading system of the long-term performance of funds. [8] During his time as editor, Michaels gained a reputation for turning around the magazine and for his tough editing and journalistic standards. According to an article by the New York Times, when Michaels took over as editor, "American journalism remianed a polite, dry affair, and corporate spin was reported without much skepticism. Anticipating the direction much of the media would tunr in the decades that followed, he made Forbes opinionated, interpretive and often indecorous, a magazine that was staunchly pro-business (and, its critics said, pro-wealthy) but did not hesitate to skewer companies and executives it saw as failures." [3]
According to Steve Forbes, when "Jim joined FORBES in 1954, this magazine was, to put it charitably, second-tier. Moreover, business journalism itself was a backwater, a place where publications dumped their drunks and burned-out sportswriters. Today business, finance and economics are front-page stuff." "Jim made FORBES not only the most influential magazine in the business field but also one of the world's premier publications. Indeed, with no exaggeration, Jim Michaels was the foremost editor of our era. He virtually created modern business journalism." [9]
As editor, Michaels edited 1,000 issues and he worked on almost every story. He wanted articles to be shorter, more direct, and with a clear conclusion to ensure they were fit for readers. He also wanted stories in Forbes to be original. If a story had been covered in another publication, he didn't want it in the magazine. To quote him, "Our readers look to us for groundbreaking, helpful stuff. Who needs us if we're doing what everyone else is doing?" [10]
Michaels retired from Forbes Magazine in 1999 and was succeeded as editor by William Baldwin.[1] He left the magazine to become group vice president for editorial at Forbes Inc.[1] His new responsibilities included expanding the Forbes parent company into new mediums including television, books and new media.[1] During his time as with Forbes, the magazine's circulation grew from 130,000 to 785,000, demonstrating how much readers enjoyed the magazine. [4]
[edit] Awards
Michaels was honored with many awards, including the Loeb Award (1972), Editor of the Year by Ad Week (1983), and Loeb Lifetime Achievement Award (1994). The TJFR Group honored Michaels by naming him one of the Top Ten Business News Luminaries of the Century. [5]
[edit] Death
James Michaels died at age 86 of pneumonia on October 2, 2007 in Manhattan. [1] Michaels was a resident of Manhattan and Rhinebeck, New York, at the time of his death. Michaels was survived by his wife, Jean Briggs, whom he married June 29, 1985. Jean Briggs spent time as a senior editor and manager of the reporter/resesarcher department at Forbes. [6] He was also survived by his brother, sister, three children from a previous marriage, and six granddaughters. [7]
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: James Michaels |
- Los Angeles Times:James W. Michaels, 86; former editor of Forbes
- New York Times: James Michaels, Longtime Forbes Editor, Dies at 86
- Forbes Magazine: James W. Michaels Is Dead At 86
