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.
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.
The Last Editor chronicles the life and career of JimBellows, a man who made his name, as well as the names of some of the best known writers in the country, challenging the status quo and championing the underdog, the start-up and the upstart -- from newspapers to television to the Internet.
Jim was near the top or at the helm of major metropolitan dailies when newspapers were the dominant media through the turbulence of the Civil Rights Movement, the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and the domestic turmoil of Vietnam.
Jim’s story is unique, exciting, moving and a must-see for anyone interested in loving and working intensely and joyfully and those who trust life and rarely look back.
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