Jason McManus, the former editor-in-chief of Time Inc., died Sept. 19, 2019, at the age of 85.

McManus graduated in 1956 with a degree in philosophy and religion from Davidson College. In 1958, he earned an MPA degree from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School. He then was awarded a Rhodes scholarship and studied at Oxford University.

In 1957 he had worked as a summer intern at Time Inc., and he joined Time magazine in 1959 as a writer. He later was its first Common Market bureau chief in Paris. In 1964 he returned to New York, and as world editor directed coverage of the Vietnam War. As national editor, he oversaw reporting on the Watergate scandal.

In 1985 McManus became managing editor of Time and in 1987 he succeeded Henry Grunwald to become the fourth editor-in-chief of Time Inc., overseeing its 24 magazines. In 1990 the company merged with Warner Communications to become Time Warner Inc. He retired in 1994.

He is survived by his wife, Deborah, whom he married in 1973; three children; and one granddaughter. Two former wives, Patricia Gold and Jill McManus, also survive. McManus was a Princeton University alumni trustee from 1989 to 1993.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.

Class Year: 
Graduate Class of 1958