New York Observer editor Ken Kurson with publisher Jared Kushner.
A close friend of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, Ken Kurson has an impressive and compelling background in politics and print. After years of working with the Observer as an editor, Kurson in 2017 by stepped down to pursue a new career as the senior managing director of Teneo Strategy, a division of the corporate advisory firm run by allies of Hillary and Bill Clinton.
Before the Observer, Kurson spent years as an executive Vice President of a company called “Jamestown Associates” – a firm dedicated to political consulting in DC and Princeton, New Jersey. What’s more, during his time in the political and media landscapes, Kurson earned a position as the 71st most influential person in New Jersey Politics according to the PolitickerNJ 2009 power list. In 2010, Ken’s position rose to 59th.
The Early Days for Ken Kurson
Ken Kurson didn’t always have a passion for politics and writing. In 1986, he graduated from Glenbrook North High School, and set out to make an identity for himself. After all, from a very young age, Kurson had to fight to set himself apart as more than just the younger brother of best-selling author, Robert Kurson.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Kurson pursued his passion for music, playing for a Chicago-based rock band called “Green”. When he left the group in 1990, Kurson founded his own band “The Lilacs” with David Levinsky, John Packel and Tom Whalen. Later, the group released a full-length CD, which was produced by Brad Wood (Liz Phair) in 1992.
A Powerful History in Writing
Though many associate Kurson with his history in politics, it’s worth noting that his accolades in the writing world are impressive too. In 2014, Kurson received the Journalist of the Year award from Algemeiner magazine.
Long before this, between the years of 2002 and 2006, Kurson started his career as the Deputy Director of Communications for Giuliani Partners – a consulting company founded by Rudy Giuliani. Kurson and Giuliani worked together to produce a New York Times No. 1 best-selling book called “Leadership”. This book sat on the New York Times must-read list for more than 25 weeks and spent 5 weeks at number one.
When Giuliani made his eventually unsuccessful run during the 2008 presidential election, Ken Kurson acted as Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Campaign Manager for his campaign. Kurson was actually among one of the first hires that Rudy made when he was putting together his presidential committee, which would have been responsible for the Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland regions. Kurson served in his role until Giuliani removed himself from the race in 2008.
Kurson is also the co-author of a personal memoir by John Crowley, a biotechnology engineer. The book “Chasing Miracles” chronicles the work undertaken by Crowley to find a treatment for his children diagnosed with Pompe disease. The Crowley family’s story was later brought to the big screen in the movie “Extraordinary Measures,” starring Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell.
Expanding a Political Career and Journalist Passion
After Kurson’s work as COO for Rudy Giuliani’s campaign came to an end, he continued to explore a passion for politics. As a resident of New Jersey, Kurson ran in the 2003 election as a moderate Republican in a highly Democratic district. He lost, as expected, but far outperformed other Republicans on the ballot. Kurson chronicled that run in a story for the well regarded public radio show “This American Life.”
For a time, Kurson acted as the Executive Vice President for a company called Jamestown Associates – a political and PR consulting firm. This role allowed him to explore both his creative and political sides more completely.
Eventually, Kurson’s political adventure came to an end, and he moved into the world of journalism more permanently, becoming the founder of something called “Green Magazine” a publication about personal finance that was eventually acquired by the Bankrate corporation in 1999. The “Yahoo!” brand named “Green” one of its top 100 best websites in 2001.
After Green Magazine, Kurson moved onto become a contributing editor for Esquire, where his monthly “Green” section covered the spheres of finance and investing. Eventually, his career with the Observer began, where Ken began to earn both praise and criticism for his unique stories.
Ken Kurson: A Winner!
Kurson’s time in the world of journalism earned him a reputation as a winner, and this political expert was also a powerful part of the Observer’s team. In fact, Mr. Kurson oversaw the decision made by the newspaper to bring an end to its printed edition and drop the “New York” part of its title completely. This decision helped Observer Media to improve its online audience and pay more attention to the digital world.
During his time with the Observer, Kurson helped to grow traffic from 3 million to 20 million page views per month, according to ComScore. Kurson is also a co-author with David Faber, the CNBC television presenter, of the “Faber Report” – a well-known book that came out in 2002.
When Kurson resigned from the Observer in 2017, the New York Times ran a feature story on his tenure at the Observer. The Times characterized Kurson as “a one-time aide to the former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Kurson is a contrarian who relishes making mischief.”
At that time, he also started pursuing interests in other parts of his life too.
Diving into Cryptocurrencies
As a side career alongside his Teneo career, Kurson also began exploring the world of cryptocurrencies with the launch of a news website called “Modern Consensus.” Created in 2018, this website intends to fill the gaps in the news revealed about cryptocurrency and the rise of blockchain technology. In press releases, Kurson notes that his readers are looking for engaging and intelligent reporting in the cryptocurrency space, so that they can learn more about how the technology works.
Kurson is building his cryptocurrency website with the help of Wall Street trader and journalist Lawrence Lewitinn, who acts as the cofounder and editor in chief for the website. This isn’t the first time that Kurson has explored cryptocurrency, as he also wrote an article for Esquire in 2013 about Bitcoin when it broke the $1,000 mark for the first time. Kurson is also credited for the first mention of the “Ripple” alternative cryptocurrency in mainstream media.
Over the years, Mr. Kurson had made his mark on everything from television and radio to politics. His background in a range of different verticals makes him an exceptional leader and an insightful part of any team.
Ken Kurson is someone destined for further success.