Fred Frailey, the retiring editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, said goodbye to readers in t he February issue by talking about its new editor, Janet Bodnar.
Frailey writes, “I met Janet Bodnar 22 years ago. Before Ted hired me as his deputy, he asked her to take me to lunch. Janet was then a young senior editor of the magazine. Ted trusted her to detect any bs — false signals or insincerity on my part. Even then, in her thirties, Janet clearly exhibited the qualities I admire her for: poise, self-confidence, excellent instincts as a financial journalist and budding leadership abilities. (By the way, I guess I passed the Janet test.)
“Janet went on to establish her franchise as an authority on kids and money. Her magazine column, ‘Money-Smart Kids,’ began appearing in 1993. She wrote a book of the same name. Three years ago, Janet became my deputy and took over responsibility for the magazine’s Money section.
“I am in awe of Janet for how she inspires the love and affection of the staff she will soon direct. In this tough business, I’ve never seen such charisma. I recently sat in on a story-idea meeting she chaired with the writers. Uproarious laughter. Voices all talking at once. Excitement in the air. Creative mayhem. And through it all, there was Janet, contributing to the flow of ideas even as she scribbled notes that would later give birth to stories you will read in this issue.”
Read more here.
