Stephen Petranek Named Editor-in-Chief, Discover Magazine

Posted on December 15, 1998

Stephen Petranek will join Buena Vista Publishing Group Inc. as Editor-in-Chief of Discover magazine, effective Dec. 14. The announcement was made by Steven Murphy, senior vice president of the Buena Vista Publishing Group Inc.

Published by the Buena Vista Publishing Group Inc., Discover is a leading general-interest science magazine. Each month Discover reaches 6 million readers who want to understand science's ever-broadening impact on all areas of life.

Petranek joins Disney from Time Inc.'s This Old House magazine where he served as editor-in-chief since 1996. Prior to that, Petranek was senior editor at Life magazine where he was responsible for all science, medicine, adventure, ecology and nature stories. Petranek was the managing editor of the Washington Post Magazine for 12 years. In addition, Petranek was the editor-in-chief of the Miami Herald's Sunday Magazine, Tropic. A recipient of the John Hancock Financial writing award, Petranek also worked as an investigative reporter for The Democrat & Chronicle in Rochester, N.Y.

"I am delighted to have someone of Stephen's caliber and experience join the Buena Vista Publishing Group," Murphy said. "Discover is the leading magazine in the science category, and Stephen's task will be to build on the foundation of Discover's great reputation. As we look to the Discover team to broaden its audience, Stephen's the perfect person to lead that endeavor."