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 21 Most Intriguing: Harry McCracken
VP/Editor-in-Chief, PC WorldBefore May 2007, Harry McCracken was just another editor-in-chief at a major consumer/B2B magazine. Then he resigned, making him one of the most talked about editors in the media world. Rather than ax an article (“10 Things I Hate About Apple”) at the request of his then-CEO Colin Crawford, McCracken opted out, taking the high road. Chairman and CEO of IDG, the parent company to PC World, Pat McGovern quickly stepped in and helped McCracken get reinstated as VP/EIC within a week. Simultaneously, Crawford was moved back to corporate as a digital EVP, the job he was doing before being CEO of PC World. Crawford admitted his error, McCracken was back in, and not a peep was heard out of Steve Jobs regarding the negative publicity he was getting regarding his rumored ruthlessness towards editors who wrote mean things about helpless, defenseless Apple. McCracken took the gamble of the year, and it paid off. Now, he has a new CEO, Mike Kisseberth. Let’s hope that Kisseberth and McCracken can play nice.Message BoardErik Hellweg, Executive Editor, Harvard Business Review OnlineHarry has always been a very intriguing fellow. I’ve known him for 12 years. He’s probably the nicest person you’ll ever meet, but with a wickedly dry sense of humor. The more you get to know him, the more you’ll discover his intriguing and delightful quirks, such as his fascination with animation. When he was named the editor of PC World, it was surprising and completely not surprising at the same time. Not surprising, because he’s a great editor; but surprising because he’s a really unassuming and shy guy. Typically in those positions, you want someone with a really forceful personality, but Harry does it by being who he is. People just want to do good journalism around him. Kevin McKean, Editorial Director, Consumer Reports I got to PC World in 2000. Harry was features editor, and he was based in Boston. The magazine didn’t have an editor at that time, and it needed one. Harry was the brain behind the great cover ideas, and he had wonderful language. We were trying to persuade Harry to come to San Francisco to be editor, but he didn’t want to leave Boston. It took two years to persuade him to come. Now that he’s here, he loves it and never wants to leave. He took the role in all kinds of new directions. He was one of the people who really helped push the magazine even more online. Harry is also one of the most ethically upright people I’ve had the pleasure to work with. If he tells you he’s going to do something, he’s going to do his darndest to make sure that happens. What have you done this year?
What do you like to do?
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