James R. Gaines
Encyclopedia
James R. Gaines is an American journalist
, author, and international publishing consultant who is best known as a magazine editor. Gaines is the founder and editor-in-chief of StoryRiver Media, a Washington, D.C.-based digital/multimedia content consulting company that deploys advanced solutions and tools for multimedia story-telling for corporate, non-profit, government, and media clients.
Prior to founding StoryRiver Media, Gaines served as editor-in-chief of FLYP, a dynamic online, multimedia magazine that combines text, video, audio, animation and interactivity into a pioneering form of storytelling.
He was formerly the managing editor of Time
, Life
, and People
magazines between 1987 and 1996, and subsequently, the corporate editor of Time Inc.
At each of these major publications, Gaines established online and multimedia ventures and protocols, including a regular syndicated People television program; TV network specials; People books (“bookazines”); custom publishing at Life; and the online and classroom editions of Time. After leaving Time Inc. as Corporate Editor in 1997, Gaines created Travel + Leisure
/Golf for American Express
Publishing.
He was both managing editor and publisher of Life, the first time that one person held both the chief editorial and publishing jobs at a Time-Life magazine. His reinvention of Life as a weekly newsmagazine for the first Persian Gulf War led to his appointment to the editorship of Time, making him the first person ever to run three Time-Life magazines.
Gaines began his career at Saturday Review, before moving on to Newsweek, where he was a National Affairs Writer.
He is the author of four works of narrative history, including Wit’s End: Days and Nights of the Algonquin Round Table (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977); Evening in the Palace of Reason, which explored the conflict between faith and reason through a fateful meeting between Johann Sebastian Bach
and Frederick the Great (HarperCollins, 2005); and For Liberty and Glory: Washington, Lafayette, and Their Revolutions (W. W. Norton, 2007).
A graduate of New York’s McBurney School
and the University of Michigan
, Gaines is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Historical Association, the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, the Overseas Press Club, and the Online News Association. He and his family recently returned to the United States after six years in Paris. They live in Washington, D.C.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, author, and international publishing consultant who is best known as a magazine editor. Gaines is the founder and editor-in-chief of StoryRiver Media, a Washington, D.C.-based digital/multimedia content consulting company that deploys advanced solutions and tools for multimedia story-telling for corporate, non-profit, government, and media clients.
Prior to founding StoryRiver Media, Gaines served as editor-in-chief of FLYP, a dynamic online, multimedia magazine that combines text, video, audio, animation and interactivity into a pioneering form of storytelling.
He was formerly the managing editor of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
, and People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazines between 1987 and 1996, and subsequently, the corporate editor of Time Inc.
Time Inc.
Time Inc. is a subsidiary of the media conglomerate Time Warner, the company formed by the 1990 merger of the original Time Inc. and Warner Communications. It publishes 130 magazines, most notably its namesake, Time...
At each of these major publications, Gaines established online and multimedia ventures and protocols, including a regular syndicated People television program; TV network specials; People books (“bookazines”); custom publishing at Life; and the online and classroom editions of Time. After leaving Time Inc. as Corporate Editor in 1997, Gaines created Travel + Leisure
Travel + Leisure
Travel + Leisure is a travel magazine based in New York City, New York. Published 12 times a year, it has 4.8 million readers, according to its corporate media kit. It is put out by American Express Publishing Corporation, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Express Company led by...
/Golf for American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
Publishing.
He was both managing editor and publisher of Life, the first time that one person held both the chief editorial and publishing jobs at a Time-Life magazine. His reinvention of Life as a weekly newsmagazine for the first Persian Gulf War led to his appointment to the editorship of Time, making him the first person ever to run three Time-Life magazines.
Gaines began his career at Saturday Review, before moving on to Newsweek, where he was a National Affairs Writer.
He is the author of four works of narrative history, including Wit’s End: Days and Nights of the Algonquin Round Table (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977); Evening in the Palace of Reason, which explored the conflict between faith and reason through a fateful meeting between Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
and Frederick the Great (HarperCollins, 2005); and For Liberty and Glory: Washington, Lafayette, and Their Revolutions (W. W. Norton, 2007).
A graduate of New York’s McBurney School
McBurney School
McBurney School was a college preparatory school in Manhattan run by the YMCA of Greater New York. Among its alumni are actors Henry Winkler and Richard Thomas , novelist J. D...
and the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, Gaines is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Historical Association, the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, the Overseas Press Club, and the Online News Association. He and his family recently returned to the United States after six years in Paris. They live in Washington, D.C.