Walter A. Kleinschrod word processing monographs and serials

A business journalist for over five decades, Walter Kleinschrod is perhaps best known for his coverage of the sweeping changes that impacted office operations in the 1970s when word processing, and soon personal computers and other aspects of "office automation," transformed business life. As editor of Administrative Management magazine, Kleinschrod may have been first to put the term "word processing" into print (June 1970). He is more widely recognized, however, as the journalist who imprinted WP into business’ consciousness with a special 32-page report on the subject in June 1971. Soon Kleinschrod was also editing two sister publications more narrowly focused on WP—Word Processing Report newsletter and Word Processing World magazine. Reflecting rapid changes within the office itself, these two, plus Administrative Management, went through several name changes, adding words like Automation and Systems to their titles.

Kleinschrod joined Geyer-McAllister Publications, a New York–based publisher of business magazines, in 1952. In 32 years with the company, he rose through several editorial positions, eventually becoming senior vice-president and editorial director over publications serving not only the office and information systems, but such other industries as toys, gifts, and ocean shipping. He has written hundreds of articles and nine business books, among them Management’s Guide to Word Processing (Dartnell, 1975)—then widely used as a training aid in WP departments and as a text in business schools—and Critical Issues in Office Automation (McGraw-Hill, 1986).