Shelby Coffey III began his journalistic career as a reporter at The Washington Post, later becoming deputy managing editor.
 

He is the former editor of the Los Angeles Times and US News and World Report. He was President of CNN Financial News and executive Vice President of ABC News. He was named editor of the Year by the National Press Foundation in 1995. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International advisory council of APCO Worldwide and the board of the Newseum in Washington DC