Walter Isaacson

Walter Isaacson (born May 20, 1952)[2] is an American author, journalist, and professor. He has been the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C., the chair and CEO of CNN, and the editor of Time.

Walter Isaacson
Isaacson in New York City, 2012
Chair of the Broadcasting Board of Governors
In office
July 2, 2010 – January 27, 2012
Preceded byJames K. Glassman
Succeeded byJeff Shell
Personal details
Born (1952-05-20) May 20, 1952
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Spouse(s)Cathy Wright Isaacson[1]
ChildrenBetsy Isaacson
ParentsBetty and Irwin Isaacson
ResidenceNew Orleans, Louisiana
Alma materHarvard University
Pembroke College, Oxford
OccupationAnalyst, author, historian, journalist, professor
AwardsBenjamin Franklin Medal (Royal Society of Arts) (2013)
The Nichols-Chancellor's Medal (2015)

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, he attended Harvard University and the University of Oxford as a Rhodes scholar at Pembroke College. He is the co-author with Evan Thomas of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made (1986) and is the author of "Leonardo da Vinci" (2017), "The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution" (2014), Steve Jobs (2011), American Sketches (2009), Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007), Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003), and Kissinger: A Biography (1992).

Isaacson is a professor at Tulane University and an advisory partner at Perella Weinberg Partners, a New York City-based financial services firm.[3] He was vice chair of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, which oversaw the rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina, chaired the government board that runs Voice of America, and was a member of the Defense Innovation Board.

Early life and education

Isaacson was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Irwin and Betty Lee (Seff) Isaacson.[4][5] He attended New Orleans' Isidore Newman School, where he was student body president, Deep Springs College for the Telluride Association Summer Program (TASP), and Harvard University, where he majored in History and Literature and graduated in 1974. At Harvard, Isaacson was the president of the Signet Society, member of the Harvard Lampoon, and resident of Lowell House. He later attended the University of Oxford as a Rhodes scholar at Pembroke College, where he studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) and graduated with First-Class Honours.[1][2]

Career

Media

Isaacson began his career in journalism at The Sunday Times in London, followed by a position with the New Orleans Times-Picayune. He joined Time magazine in 1978, serving as the magazine's political correspondent, national editor, and editor of new media before becoming the magazine's 14th editor in 1996.[6][7]

Isaacson became chairman and CEO of CNN in July 2001, replacing Tom Johnson, and only two months later guided CNN through the events of 9/11.[8][9] Shortly after his appointment at CNN, Isaacson attracted attention for seeking the views of Republican Party leaders on Capitol Hill regarding criticisms that CNN broadcast content that was unfair to Republicans or conservatives. He was quoted in Roll Call magazine as saying: "I was trying to reach out to a lot of Republicans who feel that CNN has not been as open to covering Republicans, and I wanted to hear their concerns." The CEO's conduct was criticized by the Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) organization, which said that Isaacson's "pandering" behavior was endowing conservative politicians with power over CNN.[10][11]

In January 2003, he announced that he would step down as president at CNN to become president of the Aspen Institute.[9] Jim Walton replaced Isaacson as president of CNN.[8]

Isaacson served as the president and CEO of the Aspen Institute from 2003 until 2018, when he announced that he would step down to become a professor of history at Tulane University and an advisory partner at the New York City financial services firm Perella Weinberg Partners.[3] In November 2017, the Aspen Institute named Dan Porterfield, the president of Franklin and Marshall College, as Isaacson's successor.[12]

In March 2017, Isaacson launched a podcast with Dell Technologies called Trailblazers, which focuses on technology's effects on business.[13] In 2018, Isaacson was named as a cohost of "Amanpour & Company," a new show on PBS and CNN that replaced "The Charlie Rose Show."[14]

Writing

Isaacson is the author of multiple published books including American Sketches (2009), Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007), Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003) and Kissinger: A Biography (1992). He additionally co-authored with Evan Thomas the work The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made (1986).[1][15]

On October 24, 2011, Steve Jobs, Isaacson's authorized biography of Apple Inc.'s Jobs, was published by Simon & Schuster, only several weeks after Jobs' death. It became an international best-seller, breaking all records for sales of a biography. The book was based on over forty interviews with Jobs over a two-year period up until shortly before his death, and on conversations with friends, family members, and business rivals of the entrepreneur.[16][17][18][19][20]

In October 2014, Isaacson published The Innovators: How a Group of Inventors, Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution, which explores the history of the key technological innovations that are prominent in the digital revolution, most notably the parallel developments of the computer and the Internet. It became a New York Times bestseller.[21] Writing for the New York Times, Janet Maslin described the author as "a kindred spirit to the visionaries and enthusiasts" who Isaacson wrote about.[22]

He is the editor of Profiles in Leadership: Historians on the Elusive Quality of Greatness (2010, W. W. Norton).[2][23]

His biography of Leonardo da Vinci was published on October 17, 2017, to positive reviews from critics.[24][25] In August 2017, Paramount Pictures won a bidding war against Universal Pictures for the rights to adapt Isaacson's biography of da Vinci. The studio bought the rights under its deal with Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way Productions, which said that it planned to produce the film with DiCaprio as the star.[26] Screenwriter John Logan (The Aviator, Gladiator) has been tapped to pen the script.[27]

Government
Isaacson at a State Department briefing in 2008

In October 2005, the Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, appointed Isaacson vice chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, a board that oversaw spending on the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. In December 2007, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the chairman of the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership, which seeks to create economic and educational opportunities in the Palestinian territories.[28] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed him vice-chair of the Partners for a New Beginning, which encourages private-sector investments and partnerships in the Muslim world.[29]

He also served as the co-chair of the U.S.-Vietnamese Dialogue on Agent Orange, which in January 2008 announced completion of a project to contain the dioxin left behind by the U.S. at the Da Nang air base and plans to build health centers and a dioxin laboratory in the affected regions.[30] In 2009, he was appointed by President Obama to be Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which runs Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and the other international broadcasts of the U.S. government; he served until January 2012.[31] In 2014, he was appointed by New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to be the co-chair of the New Orleans Tricentennial Commission, which is planning the city's 300th-anniversary commemoration in 2018.[32] In 2015, he was appointed to the board of My Brother's Keeper Alliance, which seeks to carry out President Obama's anti-poverty and youth opportunity initiatives.[33] In 2016, he was appointed by Mayor Mitch Landrieu and confirmed by the City Council to be a member of the New Orleans City Planning Commission.[34] He is a member of the U.S. Department of Defense Innovation Advisory Board. In 2018, he was appointed by New Orleans mayor-elect LaToya Cantrell to be co-chair of her transition team.

Positions

Isaacson is an advisory partner at Perella Weinberg, a financial services firm. He is the chairman emeritus of the board of Teach for America and is on the boards of United Airlines, Halliburton Labs, The New Orleans Advocate/Times-Picayune, New Schools New Orleans, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Carnegie Institution for Science and the Society of American Historians, of which he served as president in 2012.[35]

In March 2019, Isaacson became the editor-at-large and senior adviser for Arcadia Publishing, where he will be promoting books for the company as well as editing, new strategy development, and partnerships.[36]

Isaacson is an Associate of the History of Science Department and a member of the Lowell House Senior Common Room at Harvard University. He is also an Honorary Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford. Isaacson teaches a course at Tulane called History Of the Digital Revolution, an open seminar filled with discussion about technology, culture, and the progression of society.

Honors

Isaacson's book Steve Jobs about the life of the entrepreneur, earned Isaacson the 2012 Gerald Loeb Award.[37]

In 2012, he was selected as one of the Time 100, the magazine's list of the most influential people in the world.[38] Isaacson is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and was awarded its 2013 Benjamin Franklin Medal.[39][40] He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society and an Honorary Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford.

In 2014, the National Endowment for the Humanities selected Isaacson for the Jefferson Lecture, the U.S. federal government's highest honor for achievement in the humanities. The title of Isaacson's lecture was "The Intersection of the Humanities and the Sciences."[41]

He has honorary degrees from Tufts University, Cooper Union, William & Mary, Franklin University Switzerland, University of New Orleans, University of South Carolina, City University of New York (Hunter College), Pomona College, Lehigh University, Duke University, and Colorado Mountain College, where the Isaacson School of Media and Communications is named after him.[42][43] He was the 2015 recipient of The Nichols-Chancellor's Medal at Vanderbilt University.[44]

Bibliography
External video
Booknotes interview with Isaacson on Kissinger, September 27, 1992, C-SPAN
Louisiana Legends interview with Isaacson by Gus Weil, April 5, 1998, LDMA
Presentation by Isaacson on Benjamin Franklin, July 22, 2003, C-SPAN
Interview with Isaacson on Benjamin Franklin, October 4, 2003, C-SPAN
Presentation by Isaacson on Benjamin Franklin's legacy, May 11, 2016, C-SPAN
Presentation by Isaacson on Einstein, April 12, 2007, C-SPAN
Presentation by Isaacson on Einstein, November 10, 2007, C-SPAN
Presentation by Isaacson on Einstein, September 27, 2008, C-SPAN
Presentation by Isaacson on American Sketches, December 1, 2009, C-SPAN
Presentation by Isaacson on Steve Jobs, December 13, 2011, C-SPAN
Presentation by Isaacson on Steve Jobs, September 22, 2012, C-SPAN
Interview with Isaacson on The Innovators, May 30, 2014, C-SPAN
Interview with Isaacson on The Innovators, October 14, 2014, C-SPAN
Presentation by Isaacson on The Innovators, November 22, 2014, C-SPAN
Presentation by Isaacson on Leonardo da Vinci, November 18, 2017, C-SPAN
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
  • Isaacson, Walter & Evan Thomas (1986). The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made. New York: Simon and Schuster.[45]
  • Kissinger: A Biography. (Simon & Schuster, 1992) ISBN 978-0671663230[46]
  • Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. (Simon & Schuster, 2003) ISBN 978-0684807614[47][48]
  • Einstein: His Life and Universe. (Simon & Schuster, 2007) ISBN 978-0743264747[49][50]
  • Isaacson, Walter (December 2009). "How Einstein divided America's Jews". The Atlantic. 304 (5): 70–74.
  • American Sketches. (Simon & Schuster, 2009) ISBN 978-1439183441
  • Steve Jobs. (Simon & Schuster, 2011) ISBN 978-1451648539
  • The Innovators: How a Group of Inventors, Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution. (Simon & Schuster, 2014) ISBN 978-1476708690
  • Leonardo Da Vinci. (Simon & Schuster, 2017) ISBN 978-1501139154[51]

See also

References
  1. Robin Pogrebin, "At Work and at Play, Time's Editor Seeks to Keep Magazine Vigorous at 75", New York Times, March 9, 1998.
  2. Ball, Millie (December 11, 2011). "Steve Jobs' biographer is hometown son Walter Isaacson". The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on February 12, 2012.
  3. Neibauer, Michael (March 15, 2017). "Walter Isaacson leaving the Aspen Institute". Washington Business Journal. Archived from the original on March 15, 2017.
  4. Skinner, David. "AWARDS & HONORS: 2014 JEFFERSON LECTURER: Walter Isaacson". National Endowment for the Humanities. Archived from the original on May 16, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  5. "Family of Sid Salinger". Sid Salinger. August 19, 2013. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  6. William C. Skinner (May 4, 2016). "Q&A with Walter S. Isaacson". The Harvard Crimson. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  7. Paul D. Colford (November 15, 2000). "Moving up the Ladder Big Time". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  8. Cook, John (January 21, 2003). "CNN's turmoil continues over identity, ratings". The Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  9. "CNN: Head of news network to step down". The Chicago Tribune. January 14, 2003. Archived from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  10. Eason Jordan (August 15, 2001). "New CNN Chief Trying to Please GOP Elite". FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting). Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  11. Associated Press (August 6, 2001). "New CNN chairman meets with GOP critics". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  12. Thompson, Krissah (November 30, 2017). "Aspen Institute names Dan Porterfield, president of Franklin and Marshall College, as its new leader". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  13. Johnson, Lauren (March 15, 2017). "Walter Isaacson Is Getting Into Podcasting With a Series About Technology". Adweek. Archived from the original on March 15, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  14. Guthrie, Marisa (May 8, 2018). "Christiane Amanpour Will Lead New PBS Late-Night Program". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 8, 2018.
  15. "Walter Isaacson". Author page. Simon & Schuster. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  16. Lynch, Rene (October 6, 2011). "Steve Jobs biography: Release date moves up, skyrockets to No. 1". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019.
  17. Brad Stone, "Jobs Is Said to Assist With Book on His Life", New York Times, February 15, 2010.
  18. Peralta, Eyder (April 11, 2011). "Steve Jobs Authorizes Biography; It's Due Out Early 2012". NPR. Archived from the original on October 14, 2019.
  19. Swisher, Kara (August 15, 2011). "New Jobs Bio Cover Is All Apple With Pub Date of November". All Things Digital. Archived from the original on August 27, 2011.
  20. Isaacson, Walter (April 2012). "The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs". Harvard Business Review. 90 (4): 92–100, 102, 146. PMID 22458204. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012.
  21. Rachel Pickering (October 29, 2014). "The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson". Maroon Weekly. Campus Press LP. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  22. Janet Maslin (October 8, 2014). "Heralds of the Digital Tomorrow". The New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  23. Janet Maslin, "The Scale of Einstein, From Faith to Formulas," New York Times, April 9, 2007.
  24. "Bookmarks reviews of Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson". LitHub. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  25. Isaacson, Walter (October 17, 2017). Leonardo da Vinci. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781501139154.
  26. Fleming, Mike, Jr. (August 12, 2017). "Update: Paramount Wins Leonardo Battle: Lands Walter Isaacson Da Vinci Book For DiCaprio". Deadline. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  27. Fleming, Mike, Jr. (February 1, 2018). "John Logan To Adapt Walter Isaacson's Leonardo Da Vinci Book For Leo DiCaprio". Deadline. Archived from the original on February 2, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2020. Paramount has set John Logan to adapt the Walter Isaacson book Leonardo da Vinci as a star vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio to play the painter/scientist. DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson [Jennifer Davisson Killoran] are producing through their Appian Way banner.
  28. "President Bush Meets with U.S.-Palestinian Public-Private Partnership", White House press release, December 2007.
  29. "Partners for a New Beginning" (PDF). United States Department of State. April 26, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 17, 2019. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will serve as the Chair of PNB. Walter Isaacson (President of The Aspen Institute) and Muhtar Kent (Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company) will serve as Vice-Chairs.
  30. Mason, Margie (June 16, 2010). "Plan addresses Agent Orange legacy in Vietnam - World news - World environment". msnbc.com. Hanoi: NBC News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2020. $300 million ($352 million in 2019) for Agent Orange fund
  31. "President Obama More Key Administration Posts" Archived November 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, White House press release, November 18, 2009.
  32. Woodward, Alex (December 1, 2014). "Mayor Landrieu unveils New Orleans' tricentennial group". Best of New Orleans. Archived from the original on February 12, 2015.
  33. "My Brother's Keeper Fact Sheet". My Brother's Keeper Alliance. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Board and Leadership Team: Walter Isaacson, CEO, Aspen Institute
  34. Litten, Kevin (November 1, 2016). "New Orleans Native Walter Isaacson Appointed to CPC". New Orleans Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on November 2, 2016.
  35. "Executive Board | Society of American Historians". Society of American Historians. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2020. Executive Board, 2011-2012 [...] Officers: Walter Isaacson, President
  36. Hoff, Patrick (March 25, 2019). "Walter Isaacson joins Arcadia Publishing". Charleston Regional Business Journal. SC Biz News. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  37. "UCLA Anderson Announces 2012 Gerald Loeb Award Winners". UCLA Anderson School of Management. June 26, 2012. Archived from the original on July 19, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2019. Business Books Winner: Walter Isaacson for "Steve Jobs" published by Simon & Schuster
  38. Albright, Madeline K. (April 18, 2012). "The World's 100 Most Influential People: 2012". Time. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013.
  39. "2013 Benjamin Franklin Medal Presentation To Walter Isaacson". RSA United States. October 2013. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013.
  40. SDA, RSA-US (October 9, 2013), 2013 Benjamin Franklin medal: Walter Isaacson, retrieved March 19, 2020
  41. Waddington, Chris (January 28, 2014). "Best-selling biographer Walter Isaacson will deliver prestigious Jefferson Lecture in 2014". Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on February 4, 2014.
  42. "The Isaacson School at Colorado Mountain College". Colorado Mountain College. Archived from the original on April 9, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  43. "Walter S. Isaacson, Commencement Speech, May 22, 2012 | The Cooper Union". cooper.edu. May 30, 2012. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2020. [W]hen I first started writing about Benjamin Franklin, I thought of him as a writer, a humanities type, somebody interested in governance. I did realize that he was probably the most important experimental scientist of his time. Both with the electricity experiment and so many of his other inventions. And I realize that a Benjamin Franklin or a Thomas Jefferson would have thought people philistines if they didn’t appreciate the beauty of science. And likewise, Albert Einstein, a great scientist would have thought people philistines if they were scientists and didn’t appreciate the beauty of Goethe or Mozart, or all of the literature or music that he loved.
  44. Patterson, Jim (May 7, 2015). "Connect your passion to something that matters, Issacson urges Vanderbilt graduating seniors". Archived from the original on November 4, 2018.
  45. Published simultaneously in London by Faber.
  46. "Review of Kissinger by Walter Isaacson". Kirkus Reviews. July 1, 1992. Archived from the original on November 3, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  47. Maslin, Janet (July 3, 2003). "Review of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson". NY Times.
  48. "Review of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson". Kirkus Reviews. July 4, 1983. Archived from the original on November 3, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  49. Maslin, Janet (April 9, 2007). "Review of Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson". NY Times.
  50. "Review of Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson". Kirkus Reviews. February 15, 2007. Archived from the original on March 16, 2011.
  51. Kafka, Alexander C. (October 12, 2017). "Review of Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson". The Washington Post.
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