Jim Bellows

Jim Bellows is considered to be one of the most influencial figures in American journalism of the 20th century. Bellows was born to a wealthy Ohio family, attended prep school in Connecticut and graduated from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, in 1944 with a B.A. in philosophy. After serving in the navy during World War II, he took a job as a reporter for the Columbus Ledger in Georgia and quickly was given tougher assignments as his editors discovered his talent.

Bellows served as editor of the New York Herald Tribune (1961–1967), associate editor of the Los Angeles Times (1967–1974), editor of the Washington Star (1975–1978), editor of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner (1978–1981), managing editor of Entertainment Tonight (1981–1983), executive editor of ABC News: World News Tonight (1983–1986), and positions at USA Today on TV, Prodigy, the L.A. Daily News, and others.

As an editor for these underdog, "second" newspapers in large cities, Bellows established a reputation as an innovator whose style of refined sensationalism challenged the leading rival newspapers--namely, The Washington Post and The New York Times. His eloquent yet minimalist and often humorous and self-effacing style style inspired a new generation of young writers including Tom Wolfe and Jimmy Breslin. Bellows's acclaimed memoir, The Last Editor: How I saved the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times from Dullness and Complacency (2002), which was also made into a PBS documentary, chronicles his (unsuccessful) fight to save the underdog papers at a time when newspapers were the dominant media in some of the most turbulent times of the United States.