Legendary New York Post columnist Keith J. Kelly — who was renowned for his must-read coverage of the once-high-flying magazine industry in his Media Ink column — was inducted into the Deadline Club New York Journalism Hall of Fame at the Harvard Club in New York City on Thursday.
Kelly — who spent 23 years at The Post chronicling the twists and turns of the magazine world and the haughty, designer-clad overlords who ran it — was introduced by former publisher and CEO of The Post Jesse Angelo, who marveled at the power the scribe wielded over the kingdom of Condé Nast.
Angelo described watching Kelly in action after putting a call into one of Condé Nast’s boldfaced top editors, which included The New Yorker’s Tina Brown, Vogue’s Anna Wintour and Vanity Fair’s Graydon Carter.
“He would call the office of one of the aforementioned big shots and in his famous gravel-inflected voice say: ‘Uh, Keith Kelly here, is he available?’ A message would be taken by a secretary, and Keith and I would then sit back and joke about how long it would take for them to call back. Usually sub five minutes.”
Brown, who was also being inducted into the Hall of Fame, echoed Angelo’s remarks, saying she always took Kelly’s call even though she “used to dread it.”
“I did everything I could to avoid those calls,” Brown recounted. “I had to listen, though, because he always knew what was happening at Condé Nast before anyone who worked there. I had to know, am I fired? Who just got stolen from my staff?”
Kelly, who left The Post in 2021 only to re-emerge as editor in chief of four Strauss Media-owned local New York newspapers a year later, called his time covering media “one of the most enjoyable runs ever.”
Ever the reporter, he said he was looking forward to covering the city under a new mayor.
“It’s going to be wild here in New York,” Kelly said. “We’re going to have a blast and I’m happy to be there watching every step of the way.”
Also inducted into the Hall of Fame were “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker, “CBS Sunday Morning” correspondent Martha Teichner, WNBC anchor Chuck Scarborough and WCBS Newsradio reporter Rich Lamb.
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