<i>George</i> Pays Tribute To JFK Jr.
During the months since the death of John F. Kennedy Jr. a flurry of interviews featured just about everybody discussing the life and legacy of this famous son.
Now for the first time those who worked with JFK Jr. are talking. George's executive editor, Richard Blow, wanted to pay tribute to him in a way that reflected one of his passions - within the pages of the magazine he started, reports CBS News This Morning.
In the magazine's tribute issue John F. Kennedy Jr. is remembered by his own words, in excerpts from his editor's letters and his interviews.
"It's still hard for us to believe that we've lost John and Caroline and Lauren. But I think that the passing of a season helps us look forward as well," Blow says.
The magazine wants to remind people that George is excited about the future while still remembering its past, he says.
"We were lucky enough to work with John for four years. We wanted to show him as we knew him," says Blow, adding that his former boss was very involved with the selection of headlines, cover lines, photos and even the blurbs under the pictures.
George is known for its covers, yet this tribute issue does not feature anyone. It is a soft abstract photo image of an American flag.
"John never wanted his picture on the cover. So we thought it would be inappropriate to kind of go against that wish for this particular issue especially," Blow adds.
The cover image is actually an outtake from the July 1998 cover of Bruce Willis waving an American flag, he says.
"John actually loved it. We wanted to find a use for it. Unfortunately, we never expected this would be it," he adds.
There are also photos of some of the people John Kennedy admired and an interesting story about JFK Jr.'s meeting with Fidel Castro, a story that never made the magazine.
Blow tells that when John F. Kennedy Jr. finally met Castro, he was told it was not an interview and that he couldn't bring his tape recorder.
Castro asked JFK Jr. if he was much the same size as his father and then gave one of his legendary five-hour talks, Blow adds.
In JFK Jr.'s interviews, Blow points out, that there is a recurring theme: "the tension between public service and private lives and how much do you have to sacrifice."
"Really, you could look at it as John almost saying, 'When do you make that decision to go into public service and is it worth it?'" he asks.
The thing that John Kennedy Jr. did not like about politics was the cynicism, Blow says.
Yet, he says, JFK Jr. wanted to create a magazine that reconnected the American public to U.S. politicians and show those public servants as more complicated figures than they were being made out to be in the press, he says.
"That's really still our mission," he adds. Commenting on the rumors that the magazine is struggling to survive, Blow points out that the callenge is not financial, but emotional.
"We're still working through that because, you know, you don't overcome a loss like John any time soon," he adds.
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