Kirchner, former editor of PC Magazine, dies at 72

Robert Kirchner

Jake Kirchner, former editor in chief of PC Magazine, died last week at the age of 72 from kidney cancer.

An obituary states, “Jake had an illustrious career in journalism, first in Washington, D.C. and then in New York City. He began his career as a correspondent on Capitol Hill in the 1970s, and then quickly rose to occupy the top editor positions at several technology and industry publications throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including Government Computer News, Windows Magazine, and PC Magazine.

“He was a gifted writer and editor and a superb communicator. Over the course of his career, Jake reported from the Pentagon, the Department of Justice, the U.S. Supreme Court and the White House. He had on-camera appearances on CBS, CNBC, CNN, NBC and BBC, among others. He had in-the-field journalism experience in Rome, Paris, Beijing, Havana, Hong Kong and Johannesburg. During the five years he was Editor-in-Chief of PC Magazine, it was the number one technology publication in the world and the most successful business publication in the U.S.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.