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keith j kelly

Keith J. Kelly

Keith J. Kelly has been writing the Media Ink column for the NY Post since July 1998. He consistently breaks stories on the inner workings of the major companies in the magazine, book, and newspaper publishing businesses. Kelly was once termed "New York's most influential media columnist" by New York magazine.

He jumped to the Post from the Daily News, where he had been hired by Pete Hamill in March 1997 as that paper's first media columnist in Hamill's short reign as editor-in-chief.

Prior to that Kelly was a senior editor at Advertising Age, Crain Communications from 1993 to 1997. He was the launch editor of Folio: First Day and an editor-at-large of Folio magazine. Earlier, he was the editorial director of Magazine Week and a senior vice president in its parent company, Lighthouse Communications.

He freelanced from Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1980 where he is credited as breaking the story of the IRA's pending hunger strike, and served as a New York correspondent for the now defunct Dublin daily, The Irish Press. He worked at McGraw-Hill Publications on a variety of trade publications in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Kelly started his career as a general assignment reporter on the Smithtown News on Long Island in 1977.

The Brooklyn-born Kelly also worked as a bartender, a paint salesman for Sears, a laborer for a masonry contractor and a security guard.

  • Job 1 for Sidney Harman, 92: Succession plan

    Stereo equipment mogul Sidney Harman is already engaging in long-term succession planning even as he gets ready to finalize the purchase of Newsweek and works to find a new editor-in-chief. The deal is expected to...  

    September 08, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Ray's lonely kitchen

    Every Day with Rachael Ray is finally moving into the new Readers Digest Association offices at 750 Third Ave. this weekend, but the mag apparently forgot to pack up the editor-in-chief for the trip. Silvana Nardone,...  

    August 20, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Auton on the go at Time Inc.

    Shakeups are already underway at Time Inc. in advance of Ann Moore's exit and Jack Griffin's arrival from Meredith as the new CEO. Sylvia Auton, executive vice president in charge of Time Inc.'s Lifestyle Group,...  

    August 18, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Scouting report on the Hamptons softball classic

    The Artists & Writers 62nd Annual Charity Softball Game takes place at Herrick Field in East Hampton this Saturday, and if you like to watch people get knocked down, this might be the year for you. That's despite...  

    August 13, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Newsweek's editor exodus

    Pressure is mounting to find a new editor-in-chief of Newsweek, as the staff defections continue in the wake of the sale two weeks ago to stereo mogul Sidney Harman. Jon Meacham, the current editor-in-chief, is...  

    August 11, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Bullock is a People pleaser

    People owes a big wet kiss to Sandra Bullock. The May 10 issue -- in which the jilted Oscar-winning actress revealed she was adopting a baby -- sold a whopping 2,225,000 newsstand copies, rescuing the top-selling...  

    August 06, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Down-town & country

    Conde Nast didn't win over any employees as friends when it formally announced yesterday that it is in "active discussions" with the Durst Organization and the Port Authority of New York to move into 1 World Trade...  

    August 04, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Mag publishers, Apple in subscription app scrap

    Only three months ago, Apple CEO Steve Jobs was being hailed as a potential savior in the publishing world for getting magazines involved in the launch of the iPad. Now he's involved in a behind-the-scenes tug-of-war...  

    July 30, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Some see red as Essence hires a white editor

    Essence, a Time Inc.-owned monthly that is seen as the ultimate fashion and lifestyle title for black women, is wrestling with a controversy sparked by a former fashion editor who criticized the magazine's decision to...  

    July 28, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Superagent Wylie begins an e-book Odyssey

    THE Jackal has struck -- and Random House has struck back. Superagent Andrew Wylie long ago earned the nickname "The Jackal" for his stealth missions to swipe authors from other agents with the promise of sweet...  

    July 23, 2010 12:00 AM
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    New Daily News chief

    M artin Dunn is out as the editor-in-chief of the Daily News, ending a seven-year run as the top editorial person in the Mort Zuckerman-owned paper. Kevin Convey , the Boston Herald editor-in-chief, was named by...  

    July 21, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Didn't get paid by Louise Blouin? Get in line

    Louise Blouin, once billed as one of the wealthiest women in Britain, appears to be struggling to pay bills at home and at work. Blouin, owner of a mini publishing empire that includes Art + Auction, Modern Painters...  

    July 16, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Hearst tells senior staff to get out of Town

    The other shoe finally dropped at Town & Country, where Stephen Drucker moved from House Beautiful back in April to replace longtime Editor-In-Chief Pamela Fiori, who was ousted after a 17-year run. Fiori landed as...  

    July 14, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Freelancers say Louise Blouin Media stiffed them

    Louise Blouin, a globe-trot ting philanthropist billed as one of the richest women in Britain, apparently has a nasty habit of stiffing lowly freelance writers who toil for her mini-publishing empire, which puts out Art...  

    July 09, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Talks heat up between Hearst, Lagardere

    Talks between Lagardere, the Paris-based company that owns Elle and Woman's Day, and Hearst Corp., the newspaper and magazine giant, are said to be heating up again, according to the latest industry buzz. Media Ink...  

    July 07, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Pecker's tight squeeze

    American Media, which in cludes the National Enquirer, Star Magazine, Shape and Men's Fitness, is restructuring its debt for the second time in 18 months -- after slipping into technical default on its bonds while...  

    July 02, 2010 12:00 AM
  • New Internet site gives some thought for food

    J im Spanfeller, former CEO of Forbes.com, is unveiling a new Web foodie site that he hopes will digest at least $20 million in revenue within three years. If he is successful with the new venture, which is...  

    June 30, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Ex-Newsday editor Mancini makes tracks for NY1

    HOPEFULLY, someone gave former Newsday Editor-in-Chief John Mancini a new pair of running shoes for Father's Day. He has joined NY1, the Time Warner-owned cable station, as its new on-air correspondent covering...  

    June 25, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Condé Nast reheats Gourmet as a digital app

    Conde Nast is packaging warmed-over leftovers to foodies. Gourmet is being brought back as Gourmet Live, a digital content app that the company envisions growing into a $20 million-a-year operation. "We shut down...  

    June 23, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Condé farms out shoestring magazine launches

    Conde Nast has turned out the lights on high-end magazine development, but other wings of the media giant controlled by the Newhouse family seem to be incubating magazines on shoestring budgets. The latest mag out...  

    June 16, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Real de$perate Housewife sells out to InTouch

    Teresa Guidice, one of the stars of "Real Housewives of New Jersey" -- who was revealed by The Post earlier this month to be bankrupt and have run up $11 million in personal debt -- is selling access to herself to...  

    June 11, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Fred Drasner joins Newsweek sweepstakes

    FRED Drasner, one-time business partner of Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman and now an auto entrepreneur, is said to be in the hunt to buy Newsweek. "Fred Drasner has had discussions with the Washington Post Company...  

    June 09, 2010 12:00 AM
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    Magazine is well red

    The latest numbers on celebrity glossy OK! magazine appear to leave little doubt that it qualifies as the most expensive magazine launch in the history of American publishing -- with total losses in the first four-plus...  

    June 04, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Handicapping the Newsweek mag sweepstakes

    The field looks fairly light as the deadline for first-round "letters of interest" comes due today for Newsweek. The weekly magazine lost $28.3 million last year, but cut red ink down to $2.3 million in the first...  

    June 02, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Fergie's book boost

    Sarah Ferguson's reputa tion may be taking a hit from being caught on tape demanding $750,000 to provide access to her ex-husband Prince Andrew, but her publisher sure is delighted. Sterling Publishers, an imprint...  

    May 28, 2010 12:00 AM
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    Forbes power shift

    Forbes shook up its editorial ranks by bringing Lewis Dvorkin back into the fold after a 10-year absence. This time he is the top dog. He has the title of chief product officer but the release announcing his...  

    May 26, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Zuckerman gets his wish

    The buzz at the Daily News yesterday was that the paper's owner, Mort Zuckerman, was going to get the required number of editorial employees to accept buyout offers, thus preventing him from imposing mass layoffs after...  

    May 21, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Zuckerman considers making Newsweek bid

    With the first-round deadline less than two weeks away, real estate magnate Mort Zuckerman, owner of the Daily News and US News & World Report, is now said to be considering a bid for Newsweek. While Zuckerman has...  

    May 19, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Newhouse cuts back

    THE cost cutting seems to be picking up steam at S.I. Newhouse Jr. media empire Condé Nast. Yesterday, the glitzy publisher of Vanity Fair, Vogue, Glamour and The New Yorker told its 3,000 employees that starting...  

    May 14, 2010 12:00 AM
  • Mort offers voluntary buyouts as deadline looms

    Daily News Publisher Mort Zuckerman may be recuperating from knee surgery, but that hasn't stopped him from looking to trim the ranks of the paper's editorial department. Sources told Media Ink that voluntary...  

    May 12, 2010 12:00 AM