Major shakeup in progress at Rogers Publishing with switchover to group publisher structure

Penny Hicks, who had been publisher of Maclean's since December 2011, has been named group publisher for the women's service magazines at Rogers Publishing, responsible for Chatelaine, Today's Parent and Canadian Health & Lifestyle. She replaces Tara Tucker whose position as publisher of Chatelaine has been eliminated after two years in the position. She is leaving the company. 

The announcement by Steve Maich, senior vice-president and general manager, publishing, is part of a major shakeup at Rogers. Hicks's appointment as group publisher parallels the appointment of Melissa Ahlstrand to be group publisher in charge of Flare, Hello! Canada and the trade magazine Cosmetics.

Maich says that there will be further group publisher appointments, one in charge of current affairs (Maclean's and Sportsnet) and one in charge of Quebec-based titles (Chatelaine and LouLou (French and English)). 

"Moving forward, we will operate under a Group Publisher model, with our publishers each overseeing a content category made up of more than one brand," he said in an internal company memo. "This new structure allows us to take advantage of editorial and advertising synergies in each group, and adapt to the rapidly evolving media environment. The change is driven by our desire to not only remain competitive, but build our brands on all platforms and grow our business."

Other announced changes:

• the appointment of Rosemary Munroe as senior director of partnerships and new business for all magazine brands and brand extensions, such as the Today's Parent Approved program. 
• Jim Hicks steps back from being publisher of Cosmetics to make way for Ahlstrand and to prepare for his retirement. 
• Carole Beaulieu will continue as publisher and editor of L'actualite.
• Julia Cyboran has been appointed associate publisher and editor in-chief of LouLou (English and French) after returning from a maternity leave and Joanie Pietracupa has been appointed executive editor after filling in for Cyboran

Time Inc. shakes up and consolidates, cutting 500 jobs, as it prepares to spin off magazine division

Time Inc., preparing to spin off its magazine division by this summer, is reported to be cutting about 500 jobs out of its complement of 7,800. A memo to staff Tuesday from CEO Joe Ripp said that three publishing groups set up only 6 years ago -- News and Sports, Style and Entertainment and Lifestyle -- are being consolidated into one, to be co-managed by two executives, Evelyn Webster and Todd Larsen.

The layoffs, reported by the New York Post, are largely the result of integrating the various titles acquired from American Express Publishing, including Travel + Leisure and Food & Wine. It has already been reported that Executive Travel was being closed.

Among the casualties of the shakeup was a 21-year veteran of the company, David Geithner, who oversaw People, InStyle and Entertainment Weekly (he is the brother of the former U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner) and Ed Kelly, who was CEO of American Express Publishing.

Frankly, you're fired: four of the five reporters at Halifax satirical mag are gone

Four of the five reporters who worked on Frank magazine in Halifax are gone in a major shakeup at the satirical biweekly and website.

The mass exodus was precipitated Monday night. according to a story carried by The Chronicle Herald when Mairin Prentiss was dismissed and Dan Walsh, a seven-year-employee quit, apparently as a direct result.

Two other reporters, Neal Ozano and Jacob Boon, walked out in solidarity and were fired for insubordination the next morning when they returned to work. 

Andrew Douglas, the magazine's managing editor, said he was unable to comment on the emptying of his newsroom. [It will not be lost on readers the irony of "no comment" from a gossip magazine.]

But the owner of Frank, Parker Rudderham, said the dismissals were Douglas's decision but that they had been planned for some time.

“You can’t just go around and fire your newsroom and expect to be up-and-running,” he said. “When it’s a massive … termination it has to be planned.”

Rudderham is a native Cape Bretoner, based in Montreal, who bought the tabloid magazine late last fall from then-owner John Williams, who after six year said he wanted to free up some time from runing  it to devote to his startup magazine Gaze, a local gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgendered publication.Rudderham is  president and CEO of Pharmacy Wholesale Services Inc., the largest privately held wholesale distributor of medical diagnostics -- principally diabetic supplies --  in North America.  

Frank has been published for 23 years in a somewhat schizophrenic form. It was started in late 1987 by David Bentley, modelled after the iconoclastic British weekly Private Eye. This is what came to be called the "Atlantic Frank" when in 1989 Bentley, in partnership with Michael Bate, launched an "upper Canadian"  or national version, based in Ottawa. Bate later bought out Bentley and ultimately closed the Ottawa-based national magazine in 2008; it was said to have 5,000 circulation when it died.

In what ME Douglas said was an unrelated move, the dismissals came on the same day when the magazine launched its paywalled website frankmagazine.ca, which offers online access for $4.99 for 7 days, one year for $54.99 or two for $99.99 In a note on the magazine's site, Douglas said:

Both longtime Frank fans and new friends will love frankmagazine.ca, which combines all the pleasure of reading Frank Magazine without first having to go downstairs and retrieve it from the mail slot, or, worse, having to get dressed, leave the house and drive to the store.