Shana Alexander, (Shana Ager), American journalist and author (born Oct. 6, 1925, New York, N.Y.—died June 23, 2005, Hermosa Beach, Calif.), battled conservative columnist James Kilpatrick in “Point-Counterpoint,” a political debate segment featured during the 1970s on the television program 60 Minutes.

Alexander’s parents were prominent members of Manhattan’s arts community but were emotionally distant, which she later discussed in her memoir Happy Days: My Mother, My Father, My Sister & Me (1995).

After graduating (1945) from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., she began working as a reporter and in 1951 became the first woman staff writer at Life magazine. She also authored nonfiction books, several of them about notable trials.