Ken Auletta

Ken Auletta – Life, Career, & Influence

Explore the life and work of Ken Auletta (born April 23, 1942) — prolific American journalist, media critic for The New Yorker, author of landmark books about media, technology, business, and power.

Introduction

Ken Auletta is one of America’s most respected media critics and chroniclers of the communications revolution. Over a career spanning more than half a century, he has penned incisive profiles, deep-dive narratives, and analytical essays on the transformation of media, technology, business, and culture. His Annals of Communications in The New Yorker, and books like Three Blind Mice, Googled, and Frenemies, reflect a consistent preoccupation: how power, information, and narrative intersect in the modern age.

Early Life and Education

Kenneth B. Auletta was born on April 23, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in the Coney Island section. His father was Italian American, and his mother Jewish American. His father, Pat Auletta, ran a sporting goods store and also organized local sports leagues, and it is said he played a role in spotting the young baseball talent Sandy Koufax.

He attended Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn. For college he went to SUNY Oswego, earning a B.S. degree. He then pursued graduate study, receiving an M.A. in political science from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. In recognition of his career, SUNY later awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters.

Early Career & Entry into Journalism

Before fully embracing a journalistic path, Auletta’s early career included public service, campaign work, and other ventures. He taught and trained Peace Corps volunteers, served as Special Assistant to the U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce, and worked in political campaigns (including for Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968). He also was executive director of the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation under the administration of Howard Samuels.

In 1974, Auletta became chief political correspondent for The New York Post. Later, he contributed to The Village Voice and became a contributing editor at New York magazine. In 1977, he began writing for The New Yorker.

Journalism & Writing Career

Annals of Communications & New Yorker Work

In 1992, Auletta launched the Annals of Communications series in The New Yorker, profiling leading figures in media, technology, and communications. Through these long-form profiles, he traced how media ecosystems evolve, how power and narrative coalesce, and how technological change reshapes institutions.

His 2001 profile of Ted Turner won a National Magazine Award for profile writing. Over the years he has also profiled giants like Rupert Murdoch, Bill Gates, Google founders, and many other media and tech leaders.

Auletta’s pieces frequently explore tensions: the role of journalism versus commerce, media consolidation, disruption by digital platforms, and the balance between profit, public purpose, and storytelling.

Books & Major Publications

Auletta is a prolific author. Some of his notable books include:

• The Streets Were Paved With Gold (1979) — on New York’s fiscal crisis.

• The Underclass (1983) — exploring poverty, opportunity, and social policy.

• Greed and Glory on Wall Street: The Fall of the House of Lehman (1986) — a look at Wall Street’s excesses.

• Three Blind Mice: How the TV Networks Lost Their Way (1991) — landmark critique of broadcast television.

• The Highwaymen: Warriors of the Information Superhighway (1997)

• World War 3.0: Microsoft and Its Enemies (2001) — examining technology, competition, and media.

• Googled: The End of the World as We Know It (2009) — his deep dive into Google’s rise and its impact on media and society.

• Frenemies: The Epic Disruption of the Ad Business (And Everything Else) (2018) — analyzing the changing economics of advertising, media, and platforms.

• Hollywood Ending: Harvey Weinstein and the Culture of Silence (2022) — his examination of power, abuse, and complicity in Hollywood.

His body of work bridges journalism and narrative history, often using meticulous reporting combined with sweeping thematic arcs.

Influence & Recognition

• Auletta has been honored as a Library Lion by the New York Public Library.

• He was named among the top 100 business journalists of the 20th century by his peers.

• He has served as a judge for the Livingston Awards (for journalists under 35) for decades.

• He has also served as a Pulitzer Prize juror, a trustee of PEN, and a longtime participant in literary and journalistic institutions.

• The Columbia Journalism Review once observed that no reporter has covered the communications revolution as thoroughly as Auletta.

Style, Themes & Impact

Auletta’s journalism is characterized by:

• Deep access & long research: his profiles often come from hundreds of interviews, internal documents, and careful contextualization.

• Blend of narrative and analysis: he tells stories but also teases out larger patterns, societal dynamics, and institutional pressures.

• Critical yet fair perspective: even as a critic, his work often gives leeway to subjects’ ambitions and constraints.

• Focus on media as power: for Auletta, media and information are central to democracy, business, and culture; his lens often centers on tension among journalism, capitalism, and technology.

He has shaped how we think about media disruption, the role of platforms, the fragility of traditional journalism, and how narrative and power coevolve.

Selected Quotations

• On media disruption (from Googled): Auletta describes media companies as being “late to recognize the threat,” likening them to Poe’s The Purloined Letter, where something in plain sight goes unnoticed.

• On the profile of Ted Turner: his approach is to penetrate beyond public image into the structural and personal forces behind media empires. (Implicit in his award-winning profile)

His writing includes many rhetorical reflections about how reporters should balance proximity and distance, and how storytellers negotiate power and truth.

Lessons from Ken Auletta

1. Long-form journalism still matters
   In an era of bite-sized media, Auletta shows that narrative depth, persistence, and research continue to produce insight.

2. Media is a mirror and a shaper
   He reminds us that media does not merely reflect reality — it shapes it, amplifies some voices, silences others, and reconfigures power.

3. Adaptation isn’t just technical
   His work across print, digital, and profile journalism illustrates that adaptation must engage institutions, business models, ethics, and narratives.

4. Fairness amid critique
   Auletta’s best writing critiques institutions—and power—but often includes nuance and complexity rather than simple condemnation.

Conclusion

Ken Auletta remains a vital figure in American journalism—a critic, historian, and storyteller who maps how media and power interact. From New York’s municipal crises to the rise of Google, from television’s golden age to today’s digital disruption, his work helps us see what’s changing, what’s at stake, and what narratives we carry forward.

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