(2 of 2)
For the next 15 years Donovan directed the transition from an enterprise centered on one man's quirky creative genius to a form of journalism that would be more responsible but risked becoming institutionally dull, gaining in respectability but losing something in flavor. Donovan had always admired the way Luce "shared authority without diluting it." Now it was Donovan's turn to preside over independent-minded editors and an unruly, talented collective of writers, each cherishing his own judgments. Donovan wanted to change TIME's "portentous and all-knowing tone," and gradually did. Setting fairness as the standard of the magazines he edited meant doing without the enlivening sting of malice. Donovan thought the writing should have "warmth without sloppiness; sharpness and snap without cruelty; worldliness without vulgarity."
As editor, Donovan enjoyed what he called his "box seat at history" and the company and conversation of knowledgeable Establishment figures. On his frequent travels to Moscow, Beijing, Washington and points in between, his careful preparation for interviews with heads of state often jarred leaders from their pat answers and uncandid evasions; he never settled for polite social visits. Tenacious in his beliefs, Donovan was a hawk about Vietnam long after most of the staff, including the editors, had turned against the war. Yet when LIFE proposed to devote its pages to pictures of one week's dead among servicemen in Vietnam, Donovan approved its publication. Later, despite his political conservatism, Donovan with his eagle-scout rectitude was appalled by Nixon's behavior during Watergate. He authorized the first and only editorial in TIME's history, urging President Nixon to resign.
Perhaps Donovan's saddest experience as editor was the shutting down of LIFE, which he regarded as part of the legacy Luce had entrusted to him. Few noticed the wording: LIFE had only "suspended" publication. Donovan had to wait six years to revive LIFE more modestly as a monthly. On Donovan's watch two successful magazines were born: MONEY and PEOPLE. The idea for PEOPLE came from Donovan's friend and colleague Andrew Heiskell, the chairman of the board of Time. Together the two, Donovan and Heiskell, did more than anyone else in the company to transfer to the next generation the qualities and standards that made Time Inc. -- like the CBS of William Paley's era in broadcasting -- a proud place to work.
In April, Donovan contracted a staphylococcal infection that spread to his . bloodstream. Underlying lung problems added to his difficulties. Last week, at the age of 76, he died.