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Lee Kravitz

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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  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.
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