Kit Rachlis
{{short description|American journalist and editor}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kit Rachlis
| image =
| caption = Photo by Forest Casey, Los Angeles, CA
| birthname = Christopher Rachlis
| education = Yale University {{small|(BA)}}
| occupation = Editor
| spouse = {{marriage|Ariel Swartley|||end=divorced}}
Amy Albert
| children = 1
}}
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 has been described as a practitioner of the long-form nonfiction narrative.{{cite news
| last = Turner
| first = Richard
| title = Media Meltdown: LA Mag Cans Its Feature Writers
| newspaper = Wall Street Journal
| location =
| pages =
| language =
| publisher =
| date = May 29, 2009
| url = https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/05/29/media-meltdown-la-mag-cans-its-feature-writers/
| access-date = March 31, 2012
| archive-date = September 26, 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120926005246/http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/05/29/media-meltdown-la-mag-cans-its-feature-writers/
| url-status = live
}}{{Better source needed|reason=The statement in the article is only found indirectly in the source and must be inferred|date=October 2023}} Writers working under his guidance have been awarded a number of prizes, including the Pulitzer.{{Cite web |date=2023-10-27 |title=2021 Pulitzer Prize Winners |url=https://news.columbia.edu/pulitzer-prizes-2021 |access-date=2023-10-28 |website=Columbia News |language=en}} In addition, he has edited more than a dozen books, including The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}
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.{{cite news
| last = Obituaries
| first =
| title = Eugene Rachlis, Editor, Author and Publisher
| newspaper = The New York Times
| location =
| pages =
| language =
| publisher =
| date = Nov 12, 1986
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/12/obituaries/eugene-rachlis-editor-author-and-publisher.html?scp=5&sq=kit%20rachlis&st=cse
| access-date = March 31, 2012
| archive-date = March 3, 2016
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225541/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/12/obituaries/eugene-rachlis-editor-author-and-publisher.html?scp=5&sq=kit%20rachlis&st=cse
| url-status = live
}} 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.{{cite news
| last = Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities
| first =
| title = Kit Rachlis
| newspaper = USC Libraries
| location =
| pages =
| language =
| publisher =
| url = http://www.usc.edu/libraries/partners/laih/fellows/KitRachlis.php
| access-date = March 31, 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121013112322/http://www.usc.edu/libraries/partners/laih/fellows/KitRachlis.php
| archive-date = October 13, 2012
| url-status = dead
}}
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.{{cite news
| last = Rachlis
| first = Kit
| title = This Year's Model: Elvis Costello
| newspaper = Rolling Stone
| location =
| pages =
| language =
| publisher =
| year = 1978
| url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/this-years-model-19780629?print=true
| access-date = March 31, 2012
| archive-date = May 1, 2014
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140501021253/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/this-years-model-19780629?print=true
| url-status = live
}} 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.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}
In 1988, Rachlis moved across the country to become editor-in-chief of LA Weekly.{{cite news
| last = Blume
| first = Howard
| author2 = Pelisek, Christine
| title = Where Are They Now?
| newspaper = LA Weekly
| location =
| pages =
| language =
| publisher =
| date = Dec 25, 2003
| url = http://www.laweekly.com/2003-12-25/news/where-are-they-now/
| access-date = March 31, 2012
| archive-date = October 2, 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121002045127/http://www.laweekly.com/2003-12-25/news/where-are-they-now/
| url-status = live
}} He was credited with professionalizing the paper and boosting its political and cultural coverage.{{Cite web |last=Blume |first=Howard |last2=Pelisek |first2=Christine |date=2003-12-25 |title=Where Are They Now? - LA Weekly |url=https://www.laweekly.com/where-are-they-now-2/ |access-date=2023-10-28 |website=www.laweekly.com |language=en-US}} 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."{{cite news
| last = Cooper
| first = Marc
| title = An Obituary for the LA Weekly
| newspaper = Global Grind
| location =
| pages =
| language =
| publisher =
| date = Jan 9, 2009
| url = http://globalgrind.com/channel/news/content/310871/marc-cooper-an-obituary-for-the-la-weekly/
| access-date = March 31, 2012
| archive-date = October 27, 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231027232008/https://globalgrind.com/category/news/
| url-status = live
}} 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.{{cite news |last=Blume |first=Howard |author2=Pelisek, Christine |date=Dec 25, 2003 |title=Where Are They Now? |language= |pages= |newspaper=LA Weekly |publisher= |location= |url=http://www.laweekly.com/2003-12-25/news/where-are-they-now/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002045127/http://www.laweekly.com/2003-12-25/news/where-are-they-now/ |archive-date=October 2, 2012}}
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.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}
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.{{cite news |last=Carr |first=David |date=Feb 3, 2003 |title=Los Angeles Magazine Banks on a New Voice |language= |pages= |newspaper=The New York Times |publisher= |location= |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/03/business/media-los-angeles-magazine-banks-on-a-new-voice.html?scp=1&sq=kit%20rachlis&st=cse |url-status=live |access-date=March 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304211812/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/03/business/media-los-angeles-magazine-banks-on-a-new-voice.html?scp=1&sq=kit%20rachlis&st=cse |archive-date=March 4, 2016}} 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."{{Cite web |last=Rainey |first=James |last2= |last3= |last4= |date=2011-06-25 |title=On the Media: L.A. Magazine meets, beats economic challenges |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-jun-25-la-et-onthemedia-20110625-story.html |access-date=2023-10-30 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}{{cite news |last=Roderick |first=Kevin |date=May 15, 2009 |title=Emmis Release on Rachlis Departure |language= |pages= |newspaper=LAObserved |publisher= |location= |url=http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2009/05/emmis_release_on_rachlis.php |url-status=live |access-date=March 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411040843/http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2009/05/emmis_release_on_rachlis.php |archive-date=April 11, 2012}}
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.{{Citation
| last = Cogan
| first = Marin
| author-link =
| title = The Last Days of The American Prospect?
| newspaper = GQ
| pages =
| date = June 5, 2012
| url = https://www.gq.com/news-politics/blogs/death-race/2012/06/everybody-at-the-american-prospect-is-going-to-keep-going-to-work-until-they-run-out-of-money.html
| access-date = December 4, 2014
| archive-date = December 10, 2014
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141210085604/http://www.gq.com/news-politics/blogs/death-race/2012/06/everybody-at-the-american-prospect-is-going-to-keep-going-to-work-until-they-run-out-of-money.html
| url-status = live
}}
Rachlis returned to Los Angeles in 2014 to become a senior editor at The California Sunday Magazine.{{Citation
| last = Swisher
| first = Kara
| author-link = Kara Swisher
| title = Can Print and Online Content Just Get Along? California Magazine Hopes So.
| newspaper = re/code
| pages =
| date = September 15, 2014
| url = http://recode.net/2014/09/15/can-print-and-online-content-just-get-along-california-sunday-magazine-hopes-so/
| access-date = December 4, 2014
| archive-date = December 7, 2014
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141207112956/http://recode.net/2014/09/15/can-print-and-online-content-just-get-along-california-sunday-magazine-hopes-so/
| url-status = live
}} In September 2020, the magazine's owner, Emerson Collective, severed ties with California Sunday
In 2021, Rachlis joined the staff of ProPublica as a senior editor.{{Cite web |last=ProPublica |date=2021-07-27 |title=ProPublica Hires Kit Rachlis as a Senior Editor |url=https://www.propublica.org/atpropublica/propublica-hires-kit-rachlis-as-a-senior-editor |access-date=2023-10-30 |website=ProPublica |language=en}}
Personal life
Rachlis lives in Los Angeles. He is married to the psychotherapist Amy Albert.{{cite news
| last = Kelly
| first = Janet Bennett
| title = OnLove: Amy Albert Weds Kit Rachlis
| newspaper = Washington Post
| location =
| pages =
| language =
| publisher =
| date = April 29, 2011
| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/weddings/onlove-amy-albert-weds-kit-rachlis/2011/04/20/AFetLGGF_story.html
| access-date = March 31, 2012
| archive-date = March 14, 2016
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160314104501/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/weddings/onlove-amy-albert-weds-kit-rachlis/2011/04/20/AFetLGGF_story.html
| url-status = live
}} He is divorced from the writer and critic Ariel Swartley, with whom he has one daughter.
Notes
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Category:Journalists from Paris
Category:American male journalists