Jacqueline Leo
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Jacqueline McCord Leo is an American magazine editor and media producer.


Career

Jacqueline Leo is founder and former Editor-in-Chief of ''
The Fiscal Times ''The Fiscal Times'' (TFT) is an English-language digital news, news analysis and opinion publication based in New York City and Washington, D.C. It was founded in 2010 with initial funding from businessman and investment banker Peter G. Peters ...
'', a news website she launched in February 2010. After spending her early years in the magazine and newspaper business, Leo founded and launched ''
Child (magazine) ''Child'' was an American parenting magazine founded by Jackie Leo and MaryAnn Sommers in 1986 and published until 2007. History and profile ''Child'' was first published in October 1986. The magazine was started as a bi-monthly publication. It w ...
'' in 1986. A year later, ''
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 ...
'' Magazine Group acquired the magazine and appointed her Editor-in-Chief of ''Family Circle'' magazine. Under her leadership, an article on toxic waste dumping won the 1990 National Magazine Award for Public Interest, the first time that a woman's magazine ever received the honor. She later became Editorial Director of ''The New York Times'' Women's Magazine Group, where she launched ''Fitness'' magazine and a variety of special interest publications. Since then, Leo worked in a variety of media: She was Vice President of Editorial Operations, Sales and Marketing for Meredith Interactive where she oversaw the digital development of ''
Better Homes and Gardens (magazine) ''Better Homes and Gardens'' is the fourth best selling magazine in the United States. The editor in chief is Stephen Orr. ''Better Homes and Gardens'' focuses on interests regarding homes, cooking, gardening, crafts, healthy living, decorating ...
'' and ''
Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...
''; she was Senior Producer and Editorial Director for
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
’ ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
''; and she served as Editorial Director for ''
Consumer Reports Consumer Reports (CR), formerly Consumers Union (CU), is an American nonprofit consumer organization dedicated to independent product testing, investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy. Founded ...
'' magazine and their varied media products. From 2001 through November 2007, Leo was vice president and Editor-in-Chief of ''
Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...
,'' the largest paid circulation magazine in the U.S., with a readership of 38 million. She was responsible for converting the magazine from reprints to original content and introducing contemporary graphics, columns and features in the magazine. Leo produced a half-hour documentary about the life of Alex Haley, a former contributor to ''Reader's Digest'', as a companion to the book, ''Alex Haley: The Man Who Traced America's Roots.'' Leo's latest book, ''Seven: The Number for Happiness, Love, and Success'' was published in December 2009, by Jonathan Karp, then editor and publisher of 12 Books, a Hachette company.


Awards and honors

Leo has won a number of awards, and has served in leadership positions with media organizations. She is a former president of the American Society of Magazine Editors and winner of the 1991 National Magazine Award in Public Interest. She was also a three-time NMA nominee. Leo received the Breakthrough Award and the Matrix Award, the latter from New York
Women in Communications The Association for Women in Communications (AWC) is an American professional organization for women in the communications industry. History Theta Sigma Phi The Association for Women in Communications began in 1909 as Theta Sigma Phi (), an ho ...
, an organization for which she also served as president. Leo was an active member of the Board of Governors of the
New York Academy of Sciences The New York Academy of Sciences (originally the Lyceum of Natural History) was founded in January 1817 as the Lyceum of Natural History. It is the fourth oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization wit ...
for ten years. She is listed in ''Who's Who in America''. Most recently, she was named to Media Industry Newsletter's Editorial Hall of Fame in November, 2009.


Personal life

Jacqueline Leo was married to columnist and author
John Leo John Patrick Leo (June 16, 1935 – May 9, 2022) was an American writer and journalist. He was noted for authoring columns in the ''National Catholic Reporter'' and '' U.S. News & World Report'', as well as for his reporting with ''The New Yor ...
. Her daughter, Alex Leo, is the head of audience a
The News Project
Leo was born in Bay Ridge,
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, and attended
Baruch College Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates und ...
of the
City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...
. In 2018, she completed an executive program at
MIT Sloan School of Management The MIT Sloan School of Management (MIT Sloan or Sloan) is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs, ...
on Artificial Intelligence.


References


External links


Media Week ArticleJackie Leo at TED conference"Reader's Digest Seeks to Bring Americans Together with ''America 2.0: The Upgrade''," ''mediaVillage''"Jacqueline Leo Named Editor-in-Chief of Reader's Digest," ''PRNewswire''Seven: The Number for Happiness, Love, and Success
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leo, Jacqueline Living people American magazine editors American magazine founders American women journalists Baruch College alumni People from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn American women company founders American company founders Journalists from New York City Women magazine editors Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women Presidents of the American Society of Magazine Editors