Kit Rachlis

Kit Rachlis is an American journalist and editor who has held posts at The Village Voice, LA Weekly, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles magazine, The American Prospect, The California Sunday Magazine, and currently ProPublica. Rachlis is best known as a practitioner of the long-form nonfiction narrative.[1][2] In addition, he has edited more than a dozen books, including The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein.

Kit Rachlis
Born
Christopher Rachlis

Paris, France
EducationYale University (BA)
OccupationEditor
Spouse(s)
Ariel Swartley
​
(divorced)​

Amy Albert
Children1

Early life and family

Rachlis is the son of Eugene Rachlis, an author, book publisher, and magazine editor, and Mary Katherine (Mickey) Rachlis, an economics correspondent for the Journal of Commerce who wrote under the byline M.K. Sharp.[3] He was born in Paris, France, where his father was serving as press attaché for the Marshall Plan, and raised in New York City. He attended Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in American studies from Yale University.[4]

Career

Rachlis entered journalism as a pop music critic, reviewing albums for Rolling Stone that included 1970s works by Bob Dylan, Blondie, The Cars, Tom Waits, and Elvis Costello.[5] From 1982 to 1984, Rachlis was arts editor of the alternative weekly Boston Phoenix, then went on to serve as executive editor of The Village Voice until 1988.

In 1988, Rachlis moved cross-country to become editor-in-chief of LA Weekly.[6] Former columnist Marc Cooper would later write that under Rachlis the Weekly became "more slick, professional, better-edited but flatter, less willing to gamble and risk."[7] In 1993, Rachlis was fired due to a conflict with publisher Michael Sigman. Several employees then resigned from the magazine, including Michael Ventura, John Powers, Rubén Martínez, and Ella Taylor, as well as Carson and Erickson.[6]

Rachlis joined the L.A. Times in 1994, first as a senior editor at the paper's Sunday magazine, then as a senior projects editor.

In 2000, Rachlis joined Emmis Communications, which had just bought Los Angeles magazine for more than $30 million and was seeking an editor-in-chief to head the publication.[8] The 2008 Financial Crisis took a heavy toll on Los Angeles magazine. On May 15, 2009, citing his "restlessness" in an e-mail to the staff, he announced his resignation, effective June 26. Emmis, which named Mary Melton as his successor, praised Rachlis for "elevating Los Angeles magazine to must-read status."[9]

In 2011, Rachlis left Los Angeles to become editor of The American Prospect, the Washington, D.C.-based monthly political journal founded by Robert Kuttner, Robert Reich, and Paul Starr.[10]

Rachlis returned to Los Angeles in 2014 to become a senior editor at The California Sunday Magazine.[11] In September 2020, the magazine's owner, Emerson Collective, severed ties with California Sunday's parent company, Pop-Up Magazine Productions. A month later, Pop-Up's founders announced that the magazine would cease publication.

In 2021, Rachlis joined the staff of ProPublica as a senior editor.

Personal life

Rachlis lives in Los Angeles. He is married to the psychotherapist Amy Albert.[12] He is divorced from the writer and critic Ariel Swartley, with whom he has one daughter, Austen.

Notes
  1. Turner, Richard (May 29, 2009). "Media Meltdown: LA Mag Cans Its Feature Writers". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  2. Rieder, Rem (June 5, 2013). "Long-form Journalism Makes Comeback". USA Today. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  3. Obituaries (Nov 12, 1986). "Eugene Rachlis, Editor, Author and Publisher". The New York Times. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  4. Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities. "Kit Rachlis". USC Libraries. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  5. Rachlis, Kit (1978). "This Year's Model: Elvis Costello". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  6. Blume, Howard; Pelisek, Christine (Dec 25, 2003). "Where Are They Now?". LA Weekly. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  7. Cooper, Marc (Jan 9, 2009). "An Obituary for the LA Weekly". Global Grind. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  8. Carr, David (Feb 3, 2003). "Los Angeles Magazine Banks on a New Voice". The New York Times. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  9. Roderick, Kevin (May 15, 2009). "Emmis Release on Rachlis Departure". LAObserved. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  10. Cogan, Marin (June 5, 2012), "The Last Days of The American Prospect?", GQ, retrieved December 4, 2014
  11. Swisher, Kara (September 15, 2014), "Can Print and Online Content Just Get Along? California Magazine Hopes So.", re/code, retrieved December 4, 2014
  12. Kelly, Janet Bennett (April 29, 2011). "OnLove: Amy Albert Weds Kit Rachlis". Washington Post. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
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