Lee Kravitz is the author of Unfinished Business and was editor-in-chief of Parade magazine from 2000 until he was fired in 2008.

Scholastic, Inc. edit

From 1987 to 1995, Kravitz was an editorial director of Scholastic Inc., an educational publishing company.[1] He oversaw several classroom magazines, including Choices, Science World, Search, Update,[2] and Junior Scholastic.[3] He also served as director of new media and special projects for the company's 37 magazines.[4] Among the products and programs he developed were the Scholastic/NBC News Videos with Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric, "Write Lyrics!" with Elektra Records, "SuperScience with Molly and Bert", an animated distance-learning series on Georgia Public Television, Scholastic NewsFax and the National Student Town Meeting Series on C-SPAN.[4]

React edit

Kravitz came to Parade in 1995 to launch React.[5] He also managed react.com, a website aimed at teenagers.[6] React reached a weekly circulation of 3 million through 245 newspapers before its close in June 2000.[6][7]

Parade magazine edit

On March 1, 2000, Kravitz became editor-in-chief and senior vice president of Parade.[6] At Parade, Kravitz worked on franchises such as "What People Earn", "What America Eats" and the Parade High School All-American teams.[5] He also developed the popular PARADE Snapshot and Parade Picks columns.[5] Kravitz commissioned articles by writers and journalists such as Mitch Albom,[8] Michael Crichton,[9] Bruce Feiler,[10] David Halberstam,[11] Norman Mailer,[12] Jack Newfield,[13] Gail Sheehy,[14] Jim Webb[15] and Elie Wiesel.[16] Among the national and world leaders he edited were Aung Sun Suu Kyi,[17] Colin Powell,[18] Bill Clinton[19] and George W. Bush.[20] Cover stories during his tenure included Parade's annual ranking of the ten worst dictators[21] and David Wallechinsky's "Visit to the Bridge to Nowhere".[22] The response to this article led Congress to rescind a $235 million earmark to build two bridges in a remote part of Alaska.[23] Kravitz's term as editor-in-chief and senior vice president ended when he was fired in 2008.[24][25]

During this time, Kravitz also initiated cause-related campaigns with such organizations as the American Heart Association, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, HGTV, the Food Network, Research!America,[26] The White House Project,[27] Share Our Strength,[28] ABC Entertainment, and The Nature Conservancy.[4]

Education and awards edit

An honors graduate of Yale University[29] and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism,[30] Kravitz grew up in Cleveland, Ohio,[31] where he attended University School.[32] He began his career as a freelance writer and photojournalist, traveling to more than 40 countries.[33] He and the magazines under his direction have received more than 200 journalism awards.[33] In 1992, he won the Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association for "'Scholastic SEARCH: The Bill of Rights,' an innovative publication using rich stories to illustrate how the Bill of Rights affects students' daily lives."[34] He was also awarded the President's Award from the Association of Educational Publishers for his contributions to that industry.[33]

Personal life edit

Kravitz lives in Manhattan[35] and Clinton Corners, New York,[36] with his wife, the literary agent Elizabeth Kaplan,[37] and their three children: Benjamin, Caroline, and Noah.[38] He is the author of Unfinished Business: One Man's Extraordinary Year of Trying to Do the Right Things, published by Bloomsbury USA.[39]

References edit

  1. ^ "Printers Row Lit Fest Authors & Speakers". Chicago Tribune. March 15, 2010.
  2. ^ "In Fast-Changing World, History Textbooks Become History". The New York Times. October 31, 1990.
  3. ^ Public Education Network: Board of Directors Archived August 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Publiceducation.org. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  4. ^ a b c GenerationOn. Leagueworldwide.org. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c A History of PARADE. Parade.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  6. ^ a b c "Lee Kravitz Named New Editor of Parade Magazine". Writers Write. February 2, 2000. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  7. ^ "Parade Publications Closes React Magazine". Writers Write. April 4, 2000. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  8. ^ Mitch Albom Where Courage Lives. Parade.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  9. ^ Let's Stop Scaring Ourselves. Parade.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  10. ^ What We Must Learn From Iran. Parade.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  11. ^ David Halberstam We Were Led By The Children. Parade.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  12. ^ One Idea. Parade.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  13. ^ Should We Let Boxing Die. Parade.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  14. ^ The New Seasoned Woman. Parade.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  15. ^ A Message For Corporal Ramirez. Parade.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  16. ^ The America I Love. Parade.com (July 4, 2004). Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  17. ^ What Freedom Means. Parade.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  18. ^ Powell, General Colin (July 5, 2009). "What's Great About America: We Gave Birth to Independence". Parade. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  19. ^ We Must Act NowPresident Bill Clinton. Parade.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  20. ^ What Made My Year Special. Parade.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  21. ^ Wallechinsky, David (March 22, 2009). "The World's 10 Worst Dictators". Parade. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  22. ^ http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2005/edition_11-06-2005/featured [dead link]
  23. ^ Hulse, Carl (November 17, 2005). "Two 'Bridges to Nowhere' Tumble Down in Congress". The New York Times.
  24. ^ Palevsky, Stacey (June 11, 2010). "Taking care of unfinished business: Former Parade editor devotes year to tying up his lifes loose". J. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  25. ^ Halzack, Sarah (June 13, 2010). "Lee Kravitz's "Unfinished Business," about a year of making amends". Washington Post. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  26. ^ America Speaks V6. (PDF). Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  27. ^ PressRelease030306 Archived June 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Thewhitehouseproject.org. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  28. ^ TG_08282005 Archived July 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. (PDF) . Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  29. ^ books by Yale faculty & alumni Archived December 2, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Yale Alumni Magazine (October 9, 1943). Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  30. ^ Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism:Site Map. Journalism.columbia.edu. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  31. ^ Brett, Regina (June 13, 2010). "Author's effort to clean up 'unfinished business' something we all should consider". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  32. ^ Long, Karen R. (June 7, 2010). "Emily Winslow brings 'The Whole World' to Hudson, and poets coverge on Coventry to kick off a busy book week in Northeast Ohio". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  33. ^ a b c Lee Kravitz is editor-in-chief and senior vice president of PARADE Archived July 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Daughtersandsonstowork.org. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  34. ^ "American Bar Association: Silver Gavel Award Winners: 1990s" (PDF). American Bar Association. p. 8. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  35. ^ http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20100616/NEWS01/6160315/Author-will-discuss-year-of-reconnecting-with-people [dead link]
  36. ^ "Home". millbrookbookfestival.org.
  37. ^ "Lee Kravitz". Goodreads. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  38. ^ Getting fired at 54 made him ‘do the right thing’ – books – Biography Memoirs – TODAY.com. Today.msnbc.msn.com (October 6, 2010). Retrieved on October 22, 2011.
  39. ^ Kravitz, Lee. "The book". My Unfinished Business. Archived from the original on October 22, 2011.

External links edit