10.08.07 5:00 AM CDT
• After After Hours
• Leopold Froehlich
For nearly 10 years, I had the fortune of working for Jim Michaels, the editor of Forbes, who died this past week in Manhattan. JWM was, simply, the best magazine editor I have ever seen. Some people say he's the best ever. Every time I work on a piece of copy I think of him: his ruthless demand for clarity, concision, directness. He never tolerated or excused lazy thinking or rote writing. There have been many times in my career when I've been thankful he wasn't seeing what I'd written. I'm sure others who had the pleasure of writing for him have felt the same way.
He often reminded me of Mr. Dithers and was a powerful and memorable cusser, but he had an eye for a story. He improved the writing (and thinking) of everyone who worked for him. He eschewed the limelight and had no truck with celebrity. He believed in brevity and honest dealing. It's a shame the magazine industry—if you will—didn't follow Jim's lead.
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