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Edward Kosner (born July 26, 1937)Marquis Who's Who is an American journalist and author who served as the top editor of ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'', ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
'' 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 gentlema ...
'' magazines and the ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...
''. 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"New York Confidential," ''The New York Times Sunday Book Review'', Oct. 1, 2006. and is a frequent book reviewer for ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''.


Early life

Kosner was born into a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, the son of Sidney Kosner, a salesman for a men's and boy's outerwear manufacturer, and Annalee Fisher Kosner, a housewife. Growing up in Washington Heights in upper
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, 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 within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
(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'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''.


Journalism career

On graduation from CCNY in 1958, Kosner joined the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'', 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 ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' 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 socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A p ...
'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 administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...
. 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, w ...
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-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
hired Kosner to edit ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
'' 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. He was known for bringing numerous journalists into the profession. ''The New York Times'' wrote ...
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 e ...
. In 1991, Murdoch sold ''New York'' and other magazines to a group headed by financier
Henry Kravis Henry R. 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 gentlema ...
'', 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 ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...
'', 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 and
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic ...
, on page one for forty consecutive days, the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
and their aftermath, and the subsequent wars in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
and
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. 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 ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' 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 * Secon ...
, born in 1960, and Anthony, born in 1962. The couple divorced in 1977. 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 He lives in New York and on
Amelia Island Amelia Island is a part of the Sea Islands chain that stretches along the East Coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida; it is the southernmost of the Sea Islands, and the northernmost of the barrier islands on Florida's Atlanti ...
on the Atlantic coast of northern Florida.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kosner, Edward 1937 births Living people 20th-century American newspaper editors 21st-century American newspaper editors Jewish American writers 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