Book Review: Deadlines and Disruption—My Turbulent Path from Print to Digital

Stephen B. Shepard Deadlines and Disruption-My Turbulent Path from Print to Digital. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. 339 pp.PointAs a former journalist, I found Stephen B. Shepard's book a wonderful and moving portrait of the old and new world of journalism. Shepard's career has spanned literally the top tier of the print profession including stints as senior editor at Newsweek, editor of the Saturday Review, and editor-in-chief at BusinessWeek. He is also an academic presently serving as dean at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Journalism. Shepard spent over twenty years at BusinessWeek-taking the prestigious magazine from "original stories and hard-hitting analysis" (p. 90) to "uncharted waters" in 1994 as an online publication (p. 174). Shepard begins by sharing a very intimate look at his personal life and struggle to pursue his dream in life-to be a journalist rather than an engineer. He shares his fears and successes of childhood growing up in the Bronx, New York. Shepard's openness is compelling and inspiring for students who may want to read about his journey and career path.The book is divided into four parts taking the reader from "Foundation," "The BusinessWeek Years," and "CUNY: A New Journalism School for a New Era" to "The Quest for New Business Models. " Shepard shares his educational years, including a six-month training program at McGraw-Hill (p. 37) on "three old-line trade magazines," that sealed the deal for his love of journalism. He talks about his first big league job as a reporter at the ripe age of twenty-six for BusinessWeek in 1966 (p. 39). On one assignment, Shepard discusses meeting Ralph Nader who was concerned about auto safety. The story was on General Motors and the need for social responsibility and big business.Shepard also details the working environment explaining that women had a difficult time getting work in journalism. Shepard shares a letter one female colleague received in 1962 from a managing editor from the Wall Street Journal:We have an open mind on all job applicants and do not have a company policy against hiring women reporters. However, if we have a choice between a male reporter and a woman reporter and both are equally qualified, we will hire the man. Our preference for men is based on our desire to develop promising news reporters into future news executives who will make a career with us; we have found through experience that women, because they marry and have children, are not as good prospects from a long-term career point of view. (p. 42)Shepard recognized the talent and commitment of women he worked with and made it his mission to hire and promote women during his tenure as editor-in-chief at BusinessWeek.During his first stint at BusinessWeek (he had two), Shepard covered the first Earth Day, the Union Carbide plant in West Virginia, and the long gasoline lines in the 1970s (p. 54). Shepard then takes us to his time at the Columbia School of Journalism to help create the Walter Bagehot Fellowship Program in Economics and Business Journalism, which is now the Knight-Bagehot Program. There, Shepard worked for five years as a part-time adjunct faculty member and director of the program. He then got a call to work for Newsweek as an editor to cover business. …