Cathie Black ’66 Draws a Crowd for Her Bestselling Book, Basic Black

More than 300 people, including over 100 alumnae and 150 students, gathered in Social Hall in January to meet Cathie Black ’66 and celebrate the publication of her new book, Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life). She talked about her remarkable career in the publishing business and signed more than 200 books at the standing-room only event.

Dubbed “The First Lady of American Magazines” and “one of the leading figures in American publishing over the past two decades” by the Financial Times, Black is currently president of Hearst Magazines, a division of Hearst Corporation and one of the world’s largest publishers of monthly magazines. Black’s book explains how she achieved “the 360° life” – a blend of professional accomplishment and personal contentment – and how women can seize opportunities in the workplace. Her book rose to the number one ranking on the Business Week book list, appeared on the New York Times bestseller list and is in its eighth printing.

Black made publishing history in 1979 when she became the first woman publisher of a weekly consumer magazine: New York. She is widely credited for the success of USA Today, where for eight years she was first president, then publisher. In 1991 she became president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America, the industry’s largest trade group, where she served for five years before joining Hearst.

In 2007, for the eighth consecutive year, Cathie Black was listed among Fortune magazine’s “50 Most Powerful Women in American Business.” She also has been named to Forbes magazine’s list of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.”