Jane Amsterdam
Jane Amsterdam | |
---|---|
Born | Editor | June 15, 1951
Years active | 1973–1993 |
Known for | |
Spouse |
Jonathan Larsen (m. 1985; div. 2000) |
Jane Ellen Amsterdam (born June 15, 1951) is a former American magazine and newspaper editor. After successive magazine editorships during the 1970s, she joined
Early life and education
Amsterdam was born in Philadelphia, the third of four children. Her mother, Fay, was a housewife and her father, Morton, a dentist and university professor.[4][5] She was raised in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania and worked for her high school newspaper. She attended Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where which she interned at Philadelphia magazine.
Career
After graduating from Cedar Crest College in 1973,[4] she joined Connecticut Magazine, where she worked until 1976 as assistant editor, associate editor, and executive editor.[5] In 1976, she became the founding managing editor of New Jersey Monthly,[6] which she left in early 1978 to become editor of New Times magazine, which folded by the end of the year.[2][5]
In 1979, she edited The American Lawyer for six months, then spent seven weeks as executive editor of New York magazine.[5] Later that year, she was hired by The Washington Post as Style section editor, where she worked until 1983.[2] At the Post, she collaborated with reporters Bob Woodward and Patrick Tyler on an article regarding allegations of improper stock practices by CIA deputy director Max Hugel, who resigned the day after the article appeared.[2][7] Shortly afterward, Amsterdam was made deputy editor of a Washington Post investigative unit under Woodward.[2]
Manhattan, inc.
In 1983, Amsterdam was hired by
A colleague at Manhattan, inc. recalled: "one of her great gifts is that she packages stories so that people love to read them."[2] She also had a reputation for being hard to work with, going through two executive editors before the third issue. In March 1987, Amsterdam abruptly resigned in a dispute over editorial control, accusing Lipson of wanting to favor advertisers.[2]
Fortune editor John Huey lists Amsterdam as a formative influence.[10] Journalist Ron Rosenbaum dedicated his 1987 book Manhattan Passions to Amsterdam.[11]
In January 1988, Amsterdam joined book publishing company Alfred A. Knopf as senior editor.
New York Post
In May 1988, Amsterdam was hired by the
Amsterdam was a member of the
Personal life
From 1985 to 2000, Amsterdam was married to writer
References
- ^ Kurtz, Howard (27 May 1989). "Editor out at N. Y. Post". The Washington Post.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Kasindorf, Jeanie (May 30, 1988). "The Amsterdam News". New York. pp. 40–44.
- ^ Times Wire Services (27 May 1989). "PEOPLE: Amsterdam Reportedly Quits as Editor of N.Y. Post". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8379-0146-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-313-29949-0.
- ^ Schlager, Ken (December 12, 2016). "40 Years Young: The History of New Jersey Monthly". New Jersey Monthly.
- ^ Tyler, Patrick E.; Cannon, Lou (1981-07-15). "Hugel Resigns as Chief of CIA spy Operations". The Washington Post.
- ^ Diamond, Edwin (27 April 1987). "Lipson, Inc". New York Magazine. pp. 28–34.
- ^ "Winners and Finalists Database". www.magazine.org. American Society of Magazine Editors. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ^ Wolff, Michael (Mar 20, 2000). "Huey and the News". New York.
- ISBN 978-0688066123.
- ^ "Grumbles at 'tasteful' Post". New York. 19 December 1988. p. 22.
- ^ Zuckerman, Laurence (24 June 2001). "The Last Stand of the Tabloids". Time.
- ^ "Post Editor May Leave". The New York Times. 26 May 1989.
- ^ "Cedar Crest Alum Fired As Editor Of New York Post". The Morning Call. May 28, 1989.
- ^ a b Pristin, Terry (14 November 1996). "Harnessing Horses Instead of Writers". The New York Times.
- ^ Maneker, Marion (Oct 21, 2010). "Random House Hires Newsweek's Former Editor: Can Two Stones Tied Together Float?". CBS News.
- ISBN 9780837970189.
- ^ Anderson, Susan Heller (March 2, 1990). "Chronicle". The New York Times.