right|175pxJohn R. "Rick" MacArthur (June 4, 1956,
New York City) is an American journalist and author of books about US politics. He is the president of
Harper's Magazine.
Biography
MacArthur is the son of
J. Roderick MacArthur and Christiane L’Entendart, and the grandson of billionaire
John D. MacArthur. He grew up in
Winnetka,
Illinois, and graduated from
Columbia College with a
B.A. in
history in 1978. He lives with his wife and two daughters in New York City.
Career
MacArthur has been a reporter for
The Wall Street Journal (1977), the
Washington Star (1978),
The Bergen Record (1978–1979),
Chicago Sun-Times (1979–1982), and an assistant foreign editor at
United Press International (1982).
In 1980 MacArthur persuaded his grandfather's charitable foundation to partner in creating and funding a Harper's Magazine Foundation to acquire and operate the magazine of the same name. This new entity acquired
Harper's Magazine (which was then losing nearly $2 million per year and was on the verge of ceasing publication) for $250,000. Eventually John R. MacArthur took over the foundation that owned Harper’s. He became president and publisher of
Harper's Magazine in 1983.
In 1993 he received the Mencken Award for best editorial/op-ed column for his
New York Times exposé of "
Nayirah", the
Kuwaiti diplomat's daughter who helped fake the
Iraqi baby-incubator atrocity.
Works
- Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the 1991 Gulf War (Hill and Wang,1992)
- The Selling of "Free Trade": Nafta, Washington, and the Subversion of American Democracy (Hill and Wang, 2000).
