After starting his career in journalism, John Riha took the advice of friends and got a “real job” in the building and construction industry. He continued to have his writing published on a freelance basis, and eventually found a way to combine his two interests as building and features editor for Meredith Corp.’s Country Home magazine. On Aug. 15, Riha became the editorial director for Meredith’s Special Interest Media division, a group that encompasses 230 of the company’s magazine titles, encompassing topics such as food and entertaining, decorating and design and various crafting activities.

Where did you grow up?

I was raised in a western suburb of Chicago called Glen Ellyn.

Why did you decide to study journalism?

I always enjoyed writing. My dad kind of steered me toward journalism. I think he was afraid that if I was going to be a creative writer I wouldn’t make any money, so he encouraged a career in journalism. I studied at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

What was your first job out of college?

I have a little bit of a checkered past, but my first job was doing feature writing and photography for a small newspaper in Ashland, Ore. I had wanderlust after college and I just took off and drove west and ended up there, in a small town in southern Oregon that I really enjoyed.

Why did you leave that job?

A few years after I got the newspaper job, I was asked by some friends of mine in the construction industry if I wanted a “real job” framing houses, so I started doing that. But I was always freelancing while I was in construction, for about nine years.

What attracted you to the construction industry?

Maybe it’s genetic. Both my grandfathers were carpenters. I like physical labor and working with my hands. That’s one nice thing about journalism. In and of itself, it’s not exactly a career. It’s always best when blended with an interest, and it allows you to do that.



What brought you to the Midwest?

I met my wife in Oregon, but she also grew up in the Chicago area. We decided to move back to the Midwest, to St. Louis, where we knew some people. I started engineering my journalism career full blast at that point, writing articles for different publications. I became aware of Meredith Corp. and applied for a job in 1983. They were looking for people who had practical experience and a depth of knowledge in the building industry. I was hired on as building and features editor at Country Home magazine.

Have you worked at Meredith the entire time since then?

This is actually my third stint at Meredith. I worked at Country Home for almost five years in that capacity. Then I was hired at a small book firm in Minneapolis. I missed Meredith and Des Moines and when an opportunity came up for me to return in 1990, I came back as managing editor of Traditional Home magazine. Through that magazine, we had an opportunity to create a spinoff magazine, Renovation Style, and I was the founding editor of that. But I have to admit that I had some wanderlust at that point and I was looking for some different opportunities. My wife and I had always talked about returning to Oregon before our kids got too old. I left my position at Meredith to freelance. But the IRS wants you to have at least two years of tax returns as a freelancer to buy a house, so we stayed here. By the time we had that and some family matters squared away, my kids were older and they didn’t want to move. The position came up as executive editor at Better Homes and Gardens and I was hired in 2002.

What makes your new job different from others you’ve held here?

The difference here is there are so many titles to be aware of and the staff is so large. It’s always a challenge here at SIM, where we have so many titles, to make sure that we’re current with the trends.

How is your division responding to industry challenges such as declining circulation?

Right now, it’s very difficult to be a media professional without thinking across platforms. The term we use around here is liquid content, where it’s created one place but can flow in many directions at once. To be in a media corporation at this time is very exciting. There is some uncertainty about what’s next and what’s really going to happen. But looking around, the opportunities are fantastic.

Who are your favorite authors?

Cormac McCarthy is a favorite – he wrote the Border trilogy, which includes “All the Pretty Horses.” And I like E. Annie Proulx (“The Shipping News”). Both of those people are really language stylists. I love where you can read a sentence again and again and each time it has texture and meaning and you realize that they really crafted each sentence and took time with it. They’re also great creators of character.

What do you do outside work?

I love to bike, I love to hike, and I love photography. I enjoy tennis and golf, too, but I don’t do as much of those. I’m getting more into photography now, and I like to sit down at the computer and manipulate the image.