He was valedictorian at the Bronx High School of Science, graduated at age 16, and studied math at Harvard University. He received a master's degree in political science at the University of Michigan, and wrote for the underground press. He earned his doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley, where he was a professor for 16 years and headed up the mass communications program. He taught at New York University before joining the faculty of Columbia as a professor of journalism and sociology and chairing the PhD program in communications.
