{{short description|American magazine and newspaper editor (born 1951)}} {{Infobox person | name = <!-- include middle initial, if not specified in birth_name --> | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing brackets --> | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|06|15}} | birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | education = Cedar Crest College | occupation = Editor | years_active = 1973–1993 | known_for ={{unbulleted list|''Manhattan, inc.''|''New York Post''}} | notable_works = | spouse = {{marriage|Jonathan Larsen |1985|2000|reason=divorced}} }} '''Jane Ellen Amsterdam''' (born June 15, 1951) is a former American magazine and newspaper editor. After successive magazine editorships during the 1970s, she joined ''The Washington Post'' as section editor. She later became founding editor of ''Manhattan, inc.'', and was widely credited with making it into a dynamic, National Magazine Award-winning magazine.<ref name=Kurtz>{{cite news|last1=Kurtz|first1=Howard|title=Editor out at N. Y. Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1989/05/27/editor-out-at-ny-post/e8968510-34c3-4fc2-bda5-e7a6bddd65a3|work=The Washington Post|date=27 May 1989}}</ref> She later joined the ''New York Post'', becoming the first female editor of a major New York City newspaper.<ref name="Kasindorf" /> At the New York ''Post,'' she worked to increase the paper's credibility and journalism standards. By the time she left the ''Post'' in 1989, she was one of only six women in the country editing a newspaper with a circulation of over 100,000.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Times Wire Services|title=PEOPLE: Amsterdam Reportedly Quits as Editor of N.Y. Post|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-05-27-fi-443-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=27 May 1989}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Amsterdam was born in Philadelphia, the third of four children. Her mother, Fay, was a housewife and her father, Morton, a dentist, university professor, and former dean of University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine.<ref name="marquis">{{cite book|title=Who's Who in America, 1990-1991|date=1990|volume=1|publisher=Marquis Who's Who|isbn=978-0-8379-0146-6|page=67|edition=46th|url=https://archive.org/stream/whoswhoiname199001chic}}</ref><ref name="Applegate1996"/> She was raised in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania and worked for her high school newspaper. She attended Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where which she interned at ''Philadelphia'' magazine.
==Career== After graduating from Cedar Crest College in 1973,<ref name="marquis" /> she joined ''Connecticut Magazine'', where she worked until 1976 as assistant editor, associate editor, and executive editor.<ref name="Applegate1996">{{cite book|last=Applegate|first=Edd|title=Literary Journalism: A Biographical Dictionary of Writers and Editors|url=https://archive.org/details/literaryjournali00appl|url-access=registration|year=1996|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-29949-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/literaryjournali00appl/page/10 10]–12}}</ref> In 1976, she became the founding managing editor of ''New Jersey Monthly'',<ref name="NJmonthly-2016">{{cite web |last1=Schlager |first1=Ken |title=40 Years Young: The History of New Jersey Monthly |url=https://njmonthly.com/articles/jersey-living/40-years-young-history-new-jersey-monthly/ |website=New Jersey Monthly |date=December 12, 2016}}</ref> which she left in early 1978 to become editor of ''New Times'' magazine, which folded by the end of the year.<ref name="Kasindorf" /><ref name="Applegate1996"/>
In 1979, she edited ''The American Lawyer'' for six months'','' then spent seven weeks as executive editor of ''New York'' magazine.<ref name="Applegate1996" /> Later that year, she was hired by ''The Washington Post'' as Style section editor, where she worked until 1983.<ref name="Kasindorf">{{cite magazine|title=The Amsterdam News|first=Jeanie|last=Kasindorf|magazine=New York|date=May 30, 1988|pages=40–44|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=teMCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA40}}</ref> At the ''Post'', she collaborated with reporters Bob Woodward and Patrick Tyler on an article regarding allegations of improper stock practices by CIA deputy director Max Hugel, who resigned the day after the article appeared.<ref name="Kasindorf" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/07/15/hugel-resigns-as-chief-of-cia-spy-operations/077f2833-1cb0-4add-a02a-796684e9a954/|title=Hugel Resigns as Chief of CIA spy Operations|last=Tyler|first=Patrick E.|date=1981-07-15|work=The Washington Post|last2=Cannon|first2=Lou|language=en-US}}</ref> Shortly afterward, Amsterdam was made deputy editor of a ''Washington Post'' investigative unit under Woodward.<ref name="Kasindorf" />
===''Manhattan, inc.''=== In 1983, Amsterdam was hired by D. Herbert Lipson to begin assembling his new magazine, ''Manhattan, inc.<ref name="Kasindorf" />'' The first issue debuted in September 1984. After only four issues, it won the 1985 National Magazine Award for general excellence.<ref name="Lipson, Inc.">{{cite magazine|last=Diamond|first=Edwin|date=27 April 1987|title=Lipson, Inc.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KeUCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA28|magazine=New York Magazine|pages=28–34}}</ref> Under Amsterdam's editorship the magazine was also a National Magazine Award finalist for the same category in 1986 and 1987 and for the Single-Topic Issue category in 1988.<ref>{{cite web |title=Winners and Finalists Database |url=http://www.magazine.org/asme/national-magazine-awards/winners-finalists |website=www.magazine.org |publisher=American Society of Magazine Editors |accessdate=4 September 2018 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010181823/http://magazine.org/asme/national-magazine-awards/winners-finalists |archive-date=10 October 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Amsterdam was widely credited for the magazine's success.
A colleague at ''Manhattan, inc.'' recalled: "one of her great gifts is that she packages stories so that people love to read them."<ref name="Kasindorf" /> She also had a reputation for being hard to work with, going through two executive editors before the third issue. In March 1987, Amsterdam abruptly resigned in a dispute over editorial control, accusing Lipson of wanting to favor advertisers.<ref name="Kasindorf" />
''Fortune'' editor John Huey lists Amsterdam as a formative influence.<ref name="Wolff 2000">{{cite news|url=http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/media/columns/medialife/2469/index1.html|title=Huey and the News|last1=Wolff|first1=Michael|date=Mar 20, 2000|work=New York}}</ref> Journalist Ron Rosenbaum dedicated his 1987 book ''Manhattan Passions'' to her.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/manhattanpassion00rose|title=Manhattan Passions: True Tales of Power, Wealth, and Excess|last1=Rosenbaum|first1=Ron|date=1987|publisher=Beech Tree Books|isbn=978-0688066123|edition=1st|location=New York}}</ref>
In January 1988, Amsterdam joined book publishing company Alfred A. Knopf as senior editor.
===''New York Post''=== In May 1988, Amsterdam was hired by the ''New York Post'' as editor and was given full control over all of the newspaper's sections except the editorial division.<ref name="Kasindorf" /> Within six months the paper, famous for tabloid journalism and headlines such as "Headless Body in Topless Bar," had toned down sensationalism and increased investigative reporting.<ref name="Tasteful Post">{{cite magazine|date=19 December 1988|title=Grumbles at 'tasteful' ''Post''|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q-UCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA22|magazine=New York|page=22}}</ref> She also oversaw the debut of the ''Post''{{'}}s new Sunday edition, a feature intended to compete against rival New York tabloids the ''Daily News'' and ''Newsday'',<ref>{{cite web|last1=Zuckerman|first1=Laurence|title=The Last Stand of the Tabloids|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,151396,00.html|website=Time|date=24 June 2001|url-status=dead}}</ref> and worked on the section's book review and travel supplements.<ref>{{cite news|title=Post Editor May Leave|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/26/business/the-media-business-post-editor-may-leave.html|work=The New York Times|date=26 May 1989}}</ref> Within a year after her hiring, Amsterdam was forced out by ''Post'' publisher Peter Kalikow, who reportedly complained that the more credible form of journalism was not helping sell more papers.<ref name="Kurtz" />
Amsterdam was a member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, and served as a judge for the National Magazine Awards in 1988 and 1989, and the Pulitzer Prize in 1989 and 1990.<ref name="marquis"/> Cedar Crest College, her alma mater, awarded her an honorary degree in 1989.<ref name="marquis" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mcall.com/1989/05/28/cedar-crest-alum-fired-as-editor-of-new-york-post/|title=Cedar Crest Alum Fired As Editor Of New York Post|date=May 28, 1989|work=The Morning Call|language=en}}</ref> In 1993, she became a senior producer on the ABC News program ''Day One'' before retiring from the media industry.<ref name="Pristin">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/14/garden/harnessing-horses-instead-of-writers.html|title=Harnessing Horses Instead of Writers|last1=Pristin|first1=Terry|date=14 November 1996|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/random-house-hires-newsweeks-former-editor-can-two-stones-tied-together-float/|title=Random House Hires Newsweek's Former Editor: Can Two Stones Tied Together Float?|last1=Maneker|first1=Marion|date=Oct 21, 2010|work=CBS News|language=en}}</ref> That same year, she took up competitive carriage driving.<ref name="Pristin"/>
==Personal life== From 1985 to 2000, Amsterdam was married to writer Jonathan Z. Larsen, the former editor-in-chief of ''The Village Voice'',<ref name="marquis2009">{{cite book|title=Who's Who in America, 2009|year=2008|volume=1|publisher=Marquis Who's Who|page=[https://archive.org/details/whoswhoiname200901marq/page/2840 2840]|edition=63rd|url=https://archive.org/details/whoswhoiname200901marq/page/2840|isbn=9780837970189}}</ref> with whom she adopted a son, Edward Roy, in 1990.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Susan Heller |title=Chronicle |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/02/style/chronicle-394790.html |work=The New York Times |date=March 2, 1990 |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Amsterdam, Jane}} Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century American women writers Category:American magazine editors Category:Cedar Crest College alumni Category:Editors of New York City newspapers Category:New Times magazine (1973-1979) Category:New York Post people Category:People from Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania Category:The Washington Post people Category:American women magazine editors Category:American women newspaper editors Category:20th-century American newspaper editors