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sdi1@columbia.edu Courses taught:
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in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Dec. 8, 1937, the son of Dorothy Ritz of
Hibbing, Minnesota, and Norman Ellis Isaacs, of Manchester, England. Grew
up in Indianapolis, in St. Louis, Missouri, and in Louisville, Kentucky.
Graduated from Eastern High School in Middletown, Kentucky in 1955; his
most notorious classmate: Ned Beatty of Deliverance fame (he and
Beatty even played the same position on the football team). In high school,
he was president of the student council, president of the Kentucky Association
of Student Councils, president of the Jefferson County Sportsmanship Association,
and president of the Chevalier Literary Society.
He went to Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, majoring in history, minoring in art history. He played varsity football, and was chairman of Adams House. Earned his B.A. in 1959.
Between school years, he worked as a copy editor, layout editor, photographer, reporter and assistant financial editor for The Louisville Times. After graduation, worked there for a year, as a reporter, as classical music critic, and as financial editor.
He then went to England, where he moved from job to job, as reporter or editor, at such newspapers as The Economist, Guardian, News Chronicle.
In 1961, was hired by The Washington Post as a local reporter. Spent 17 years at the Post, in such jobs as reporter, city editor, metropolitan editor, editor of the Sunday magazines, New York bureau chief, and national correspondent. In 1972 wrote a book called Jews and American Politics. Then became director of the Los Angeles Times/Washington Post News Service.
In 1978 became editor and senior vice president of The Minneapolis Star. In 1982, moved to New York as a producer for CBS News, working for the CBS Morning News and later, for Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt. Then became a producer for David Hartman's television company on specials that appeared on ABC News and on PBS, then chairman of Private Network Productions and worked on a book entitled Paper Dynasties: The Rise and Fall of America's Great Newspaper Families.
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Columbia University |
Hired by the Graduate School of Journalism in 1988 as its first Gannett Foundation Visiting Professor. Stayed on, becoming associate dean for academic affairs a year later. As associate dean, founded the School's Center for New Media, and became its co-chairman (with Vice Provost Michael Crow).
