Career
John Shaw returned to the United States in 1919, at the end of the First World War, after his military service. He entered the steno pool for Mitten Management, which operated the transportation system in Philadelphia. He was selected by Thomas Mitten, the president of the company, to be his personal secretary. Shaw’s first public relations job was to write fliers that were distributed to passengers on the trolleys and trains. When Mitten passed away, Shaw went to work for the Bell Telephone System where he was a public relations executive. In this capacity, he worked as the liaison for the Bell Telephone System to "The Bell Telephone Hour," a weekly classical music radio program.
He researched the telephone’s role in advertising, and he wrote articles for magazines and newspapers about his work. Shaw also redesigned the Yellow Pages for New York City based on this research. This work inspired him to change his name from John Shaw to John MacKay Shaw, based on the sheer number of men named John Shaw in the New York City telephone book. He chose the name MacKay after his uncle John MacKay, who was a respected teacher in Scotland. John Shaw’s desire to differentiate himself from the “common man” by changing his name can be seen in the works of authors that he influenced later in life. He remained with the Bell Telephone System until his retirement in 1959.