Editing John F. Kennedy Jr. (section)

===''George'' magazine===
In 1995, Kennedy and Michael Berman founded ''[[George (magazine)|George]]'', a glossy, politics-as-lifestyle and fashion monthly, with Kennedy controlling 50 percent of the shares.<ref name="A&E Biography"/> Kennedy officially launched the magazine at a news conference in Manhattan on September 8 and joked that he had not seen so many reporters in one place since he failed his first bar exam.<ref name=Landau117/>

Each issue of the magazine contained an editor's column and interviews written by Kennedy,<ref name=Sumner>{{cite book|last=Sumner|first=David E.|title=The Magazine Century: American Magazines Since 1900|url=https://archive.org/details/magazinecenturya0000sumn|url-access=registration|publisher=Peter Lang International Academic Publishers|year=2010|pages=[https://archive.org/details/magazinecenturya0000sumn/page/201 201]|isbn=978-1433104930}}</ref> who believed they could make politics "accessible by covering it in an entertaining and compelling way", allowing "popular interest and involvement" to follow.<ref name=Landau100-102/> Kennedy did interviews with [[Louis Farrakhan]], [[Billy Graham]], [[Garth Brooks]], and others.<ref name=Landau100-102>Landau, pp. 100-102.</ref>

The first issue was criticized for its image of [[Cindy Crawford]] posing as [[George Washington]] in a powdered wig and ruffled shirt. In defense of the cover Kennedy stated that "political magazines should look like ''[[Mirabella]]''."<ref name=Landau99>Landau, p. 99.</ref>

In July 1997, ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' published a profile of New York City mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]], claiming that he was sleeping with his press secretary (which both parties denied). Kennedy was tempted to follow up on this story but decided against it.<ref>Blow, pp. 174-175.</ref> That same month, he wrote about meeting [[Mother Teresa]], declaring that the "three days I spent in her presence was the strongest evidence this struggling Catholic has ever had that God exists."<ref name=Sumner/>

[[File:JFKJr2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Kennedy in 1998]]
The September 1997 issue of ''George'' centered on temptation and featured two of Kennedy's cousins, [[Michael LeMoyne Kennedy]] and [[Joseph P. Kennedy II]]. Michael, a Boston attorney,<ref name="Accident Kills A Kennedy">{{Cite web | title =An Accident Kills A Kennedy Promise Waned With Sex Scandal | website = [[New York Daily News]] | date = January 1998 | access-date = 2017-11-22 | url = https://www.nydailynews.com/1998/01/01/an-accident-kills-a-kennedy-promise-waned-with-sex-scandal/}}</ref> had been accused of having an affair with his children's underage babysitter,<ref name="nancygibbs3">{{cite magazine |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,987634,00.html |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |title=The Kennedy Family: Tragedy Strikes Again |first1=Nancy |last1=Gibbs |first2=Terry |last2=McCarthy |first3=Charlotte |last3= Faltermayer |first4=Tom |last4=Witkowski |date=January 12, 1998 |access-date=August 30, 2009 |page=3 |archive-date=April 23, 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080423234104/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C987634-3%2C00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> while Joseph, a Massachusetts congressman,<ref>{{cite web |title=Kennedy, Joseph Patrick, II |url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/K000110 |website=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |access-date=20 August 2024}}</ref> had been accused by his ex-wife of having bullied her. John said that both his cousins had become "poster boys for bad behavior", and that he was trying to show that press coverage of the pair was unfair because they were Kennedys.<ref name="Andersen, p. 316">Andersen, p. 316.</ref> Joseph paraphrased John's father by stating, "Ask not what you can do for your cousin, but what you can do for his magazine."<ref>Leigh, pp. 322-323.</ref>

====Decline====
By early 1997, Kennedy and Berman were locked in a power struggle, which led to screaming matches, slammed doors, and even a physical altercation. Berman sold his share of the company and Kennedy took on Berman's responsibilities. Berman's departure was followed by a rapid drop in sales for the already declining magazine.<ref name=Heymann438/>

Hachette Filipacchi Magazines were partners in ''George''. CEO [[David Pecker]] said the decline was due to Kennedy's refusal to "take risks as an editor, despite the fact that he was an extraordinary risk taker in other areas of his life." Pecker also said, "He understood that the target audience for ''George'' was the eighteen-to-thirty-four-year-old demographic, yet he would routinely turn down interviews that would appeal to this age group, like [[Princess Diana]] or [[John Gotti Jr.]], to interview subjects like [[Dan Rostenkowski]] or [[Võ Nguyên Giáp]]."<ref name=Heymann438>Heymann, p. 438.</ref>
Shortly before his death, Kennedy had been planning a series of online chats with the 2000 presidential candidates. [[Microsoft]] was to provide the technology and pay for it while receiving advertising in ''George''.<ref name=Blow274>Blow, p. 274.</ref> After his death, the magazine was bought out by Hachette,<ref name="media">Bercovici, Jeff (2001). [http://www.medialifemagazine.com/news2001/jan01/jan02/5_fri/news1friday.html "Hachette delivers death ax to George"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930180348/http://www.medialifemagazine.com/news2001/jan01/jan02/5_fri/news1friday.html |date=September 30, 2007 }}. ''[[Media Life Magazine]]''.</ref> but it folded in early 2001.<ref name="cnn">[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0101/06/rs.00.html "Reliable Sources: 'George' Folds"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418152349/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0101/06/rs.00.html |date=April 18, 2016 }}. CNN. January 6, 2001.</ref>