Just in Time: Isaacson Delivers the News

Walter Isaacson '74 talks in the slow voice of a long-time journalist who knows that reporters take notes slowly and think in quotations. And although most reporters themselves hate to be interviewed, Isaacson, the managing editor of Time Magazine, seems to take it in stride.

When Time held its 100th anniversary bash earlier this year, Isaacson's machinations about who would sit near whom drummed up nearly as much publicity as the event itself.

Isaacson is Harvard, surrounding himself with former classmates and applying lessons learned in college to his work. He is also New York literati, known for hobnobbing with celebrities and appearing in the society pages.

But belying his larger-than-life persona, the editor is straightforward and practical, fully attuned to the information superhighway that will dominate his profession in the 21st century.

Isaacson began his high-profile journalistic career at an appropriately flashy venue: the Harvard Lampoon, that semisecret Sorrento Square social organization that used to (even in those days) occasionally publish a so-called humor magazine.

Harvard's opportunities were all a young Louisiana boy, the son of an engineer, could ask for.

"It really opened up the world to me since I had barely been north of the Mason-Dixon Line as a kid," he says.

The Lampoon--going through its "lazy" days--was where Isaacson says he "learned to love magazines and know a little about many different things. It peaked my interest in writing about history."

History and Literature was his concentration, but he also was a computer nut before it was popular.

"I studied computers a lot under [former Lowell House Master and Professor of Computer Science] Bill Bossert, but unfortunately I was about two or three years younger than Bill Gates, and we were still using Fortran and punch cards."

Though there was little hype surrounding this "new media" back then, Isaacson recognized its potential.

"I feel lucky enough that I learned and got a foundation of computers as well as in history at Harvard," he says.

Isaacson's Harvard summers were spent in London as an intern for The Times of London.

A Rhodes scholar, Isaacson soon joined the staff of the Times. He returned to the U.S. and wrote for the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

In 1978, he joined Time Magazine and worked his way up from the lower echelons, where he wrote on national affairs, to the upper ranks of the editorial staff.

Through his career, which included a stint as the new media editor for Time in the early '90s, Harvard's lessons hit home for Isaacson.

"One thing I learned by having gone to Harvardand have returned to tell the tale is what awonderful technology print is. It's convenient,it's portable, and user friendly," he says.

Though he is a fan of the Internet and digitaltechnology, Isaacson sees a future for printedweekly news magazines.

"If, for the past 500 years, we had beengetting our information electronically and then amodern Gutenberg had come along to invent ways toput tin on paper and deliver it to our doorsteps,then we would marvel at what a great newtechnology it was," Isaacson says.

Although some aspects of journalism haven'tchanged--Time continues to run cover stories thathighlight the role of exceptional individuals inmodern history--the "big" issues framing theworldviews of journalists has, in Isaacson'sopinion, changed.

"For previous generations of journalists, thecivil rights movement and the Vietnam War were themajor events of our time, whereas for mygeneration, the digital revolution and the newinformation age formed the major story," he says.

In a globalized era, some news-magazines, likeU.S. News and World Report, have shifted focus toconcentrate on consumer information and healthcoverage.

"I'm not that much into 'news you can use,'although we do some of that," Isaacson says. "I'mmore interested in international affairs, thechanging economy and the digital revolution. Andwe've shifted Time's focus a little bit away fromcelebrity and entertainment journalism."

But one of Isaacson's former competitors, JamesM. Fallows '70, says that the pressures ofcompeting with new media have made even Time focuson such areas as personal finance and health andwellness.

"For several decades now, these magazine havebeen forced to reinvent themselves," says Fallows,who edited U.S. News from the fall of 1996 to thefall of 1998.

"The fact that they're all profitable now whennone of them should exist says they haveresilience," he adds.

Fallows says he once told Isaacson that lookingat Time's empire, "I felt like some guy fromLithuania looking at the United States."

Fallows, who was also a former Crimsonpresident, credits Isaacson with keeping amultifaceted media empire steady in rough waters.

"It's undeniable that he's led one of the majornews empires at the time when it's trying tojuggle various transitions, technologicaltransitions and the role of the Internet. I thinkthat he's done that all with great skill," hesays.

Isaacson keeps in touch with his Harvardclassmates--one of them is Evan Thomas '73, aformer assistant managing editor for Time--andstill sees a 'Poonster buddy or two.

But despite his Harvard background, themanaging editor of Time is familiar with thefabled values of middle America. He says he editsthe magazine with these in mind.

"Time is and should be America's commonground," reads a letter that then-incoming editorIsaacson wrote to readers on January 15, 1996."Our ideals reflect the shared values of thehearts of most Americans: try to figure out what'sbest for our kids, clean up after ourselves, havefaith in the power that comes from free marketsand free minds...

"One thing I learned by having gone to Harvardand have returned to tell the tale is what awonderful technology print is. It's convenient,it's portable, and user friendly," he says.

Though he is a fan of the Internet and digitaltechnology, Isaacson sees a future for printedweekly news magazines.

"If, for the past 500 years, we had beengetting our information electronically and then amodern Gutenberg had come along to invent ways toput tin on paper and deliver it to our doorsteps,then we would marvel at what a great newtechnology it was," Isaacson says.

Although some aspects of journalism haven'tchanged--Time continues to run cover stories thathighlight the role of exceptional individuals inmodern history--the "big" issues framing theworldviews of journalists has, in Isaacson'sopinion, changed.

"For previous generations of journalists, thecivil rights movement and the Vietnam War were themajor events of our time, whereas for mygeneration, the digital revolution and the newinformation age formed the major story," he says.

In a globalized era, some news-magazines, likeU.S. News and World Report, have shifted focus toconcentrate on consumer information and healthcoverage.

"I'm not that much into 'news you can use,'although we do some of that," Isaacson says. "I'mmore interested in international affairs, thechanging economy and the digital revolution. Andwe've shifted Time's focus a little bit away fromcelebrity and entertainment journalism."

But one of Isaacson's former competitors, JamesM. Fallows '70, says that the pressures ofcompeting with new media have made even Time focuson such areas as personal finance and health andwellness.

"For several decades now, these magazine havebeen forced to reinvent themselves," says Fallows,who edited U.S. News from the fall of 1996 to thefall of 1998.

"The fact that they're all profitable now whennone of them should exist says they haveresilience," he adds.

Fallows says he once told Isaacson that lookingat Time's empire, "I felt like some guy fromLithuania looking at the United States."

Fallows, who was also a former Crimsonpresident, credits Isaacson with keeping amultifaceted media empire steady in rough waters.

"It's undeniable that he's led one of the majornews empires at the time when it's trying tojuggle various transitions, technologicaltransitions and the role of the Internet. I thinkthat he's done that all with great skill," hesays.

Isaacson keeps in touch with his Harvardclassmates--one of them is Evan Thomas '73, aformer assistant managing editor for Time--andstill sees a 'Poonster buddy or two.

But despite his Harvard background, themanaging editor of Time is familiar with thefabled values of middle America. He says he editsthe magazine with these in mind.

"Time is and should be America's commonground," reads a letter that then-incoming editorIsaacson wrote to readers on January 15, 1996."Our ideals reflect the shared values of thehearts of most Americans: try to figure out what'sbest for our kids, clean up after ourselves, havefaith in the power that comes from free marketsand free minds...