Robert Emmett Ginna Jr. (b. 1925) is a retired magazine reporter and editor, a film producer and screenwriter, and a Harvard faculty member. He co-founded People magazine, served as its first editor, and later was Editor-in-Chief of Little Brown.

Ginna was born to Robert Emmett Ginna, a Rochester Gas and Electric executive, and his wife, the former Margaret McCall, both descended from Irish immigrants.^[1][2][3] Ginna and his father were named for Robert Emmett, an Irish revolutionary who was executed by British authorities in 1803.^[3] After an admission to Harvard College, Ginna enlisted in the Navy at age 17, serving in the Pacific during World War Two.^[3] He graduated from the University of Rochester in 1948,^[4] and went on to get a Master's in Art History from Harvard University.^[3]

In his early career, Ginna worked as a reporter and editor for Horizon, Life, and Scientific American.^[2] In 1955, Ginna interviewed Sean O'Casey for NBC television; A decade later, Ginna would produce a film about O'Casey.^[5][6] In 1960, Ginna interviewed filmmaker Stanley Kubrick for Horizon.^[7][8]

In February 1962, Ginnna authored "Life in the Afternoon", an essay about meeting Ernest Hemingway in 1958 Cuba.^[9][10]

During the 1960s, Ginna was a screeenwriter and film producer. Ginna worked with famous filmmaker John Ford on the film Young Cassidy, but Ford had to be replaced mid-shoot.^[11][12]

In 1974, Ginna co-founded People magazine and served as its first Editor-in-Chief.^[13] From 1977 to 1980, Ginna was the Editor-in-Chief of Little Brown Publishing ; In that role, he was influential in writer James Salter's switch from screenplays to novels.^[14]

From 1988 to 2002, Ginna served on the faculty of Harvard University, teaching writing and filmmaking. In 2003, Ginna authored The Irish Way: A Walk Through Ireland's Past and Present.^[15][16]

In 2006, Ginna was profiled for his role in creating an academic press at New England College.^[17]

• "Our Man from New York Observes Carol Reed Directing 'Our Man in Havana' " Horizon , Nov. 1959
• "Life in the afternoon : Ernest Hemingway, some quiet conversations regarding fishing, writing, war, bars, wine, hunting, and so on" (1962) Esquire Magazine^[18]
• FDR (1963) with Roger Butterfield and Robert D. Graff
• "Talking to Sean O’Casey on American Television" (1974)
• "In Search of 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'" (2002)^[19][20]
• The Irish Way: A Walk Through Ireland's Past and Present (2003)^[16]

Ginna married Margaret Williams; The pair had two children. She died in 2004.^[24] In 2017, their son dedicated his book What Editors Do to his parents.^[25] After his wife's death, Ginna was the companion of journalist Gail Sheehy, who died in 2020 at the age of 83.^[26]