Shape Editor-in-Chief Valerie Latona, who was criticized for putting country singer LeAnn Rimes on the October cover, is out at the American Media-owned monthly after five years.
Tara Kraft, a one-time p.r. consultant for Clinique who has spent the past eight years as the beauty and fashion director of AMI-owned Star magazine, will take over on Friday.
“I’m thrilled beyond words,” said Kraft, who was hired originally when Bonnie Fuller was running the editorial show. “I can’t wait to start.”
AMI chief David Pecker said Kraft will be adding more lifestyle coverage to the existing health and fitness coverage.
Rimes has been the subject of considerable controversy since getting caught in a steamy affair with her TV movie co-star Eddie Cibrian while they were both married to other people. Given that the affair eventually led to the bustup of both marriages, some readers were apparently disappointed to see the country singer decked out in a sexy red bikini on the cover of Shape.
Cibrian at first denied the affair but subsequently left his wife, Brandi Glanville. Rimes also split from her husband of eight years, Dean Sheremet.
At the time, Sheremet said he was “blindsided” by the affair, but yesterday he announced his engagement to his new girlfriend. Rimes has also offered up a public mea culpa for her affair and tried to explain why she left her husband for a married father of two young children.
Latona thought Rimes’ story was a good one for the magazine, especially when Rimes agreed to be the cover girl for the third time in her career and said she was working through her downtime by exercising.
But things began to unravel when some readers blasted Shape for putting a “husband stealer” on the cover.
Latona dashed off a quick e-mail response to about 40 disgruntled readers in which she took the unprecedented step of apologizing for the cover choice. Shape made a “a terrible mistake in putting LeAnn Rimes on the cover. Please know that our putting her on the cover was not meant to put a husband stealer on a pedestal — but to show [through her story] how we all are human.” She signed the e-mail, “Humbly, Valerie.”
In no time at all, Rimes was made aware of Latona’s apology to readers. Rimes tweeted that she wondered why they were planning to toss a big party for her at the same time the editor was calling her decision to put her on the cover a “terrible mistake.”
Latona then tried to backtrack and insisted that her words were taken out of context and that she thought it was a good idea.
“I don’t want anyone to be un happy so I took the time to write a personal note to them, apologizing for not having someone on the cover they wanted to see and hoping to do right by them the next time,” Latona said in a statement.
“The bottom line is this: I stand by the fact that LeAnn’s story is compelling and her courage and strength in the face of so much adversity is compelling.”
But by then the damage was already done.
Rimes was scheduled to perform for American Media in Los Angeles at an exclusive thank-you party for their 50 biggest advertisers two weeks ago. But as Latona was on the flight out West, she learned that Rimes was canceling at the last minute. Her agent said that Rimes had the flu.
The magazine quickly recruited Brooke Burke, who is slated to appear on the January cover, to pinch hit.
Latona did not return an e-mail seeking comment. In a prepared statement, she said, “As I have always said to Shape’s readers, it’s important to take risks in life and try new things, and now I’m taking my own advice and heading off into my next adventure.”
Most of the numbers on Shape seemed to suggest it is doing O.K. Its newsstand sales dropped slightly in the first six months of the year to 290,417, out of total circulation of 1,650,752, although it had to add 69,000 free copies to make its total circulation guarantee to advertisers. Ad sales in the period were up 2 percent, behind archrival Fitness, which had a 17 percent rise.
Not surprisingly, no mention was made of the controversy in making the announcement. There were rumors that Latona was looking for a way out and might be headed to Hearst and the Food Network Magazine. A Hearst spokeswoman said yesterday there was “no truth to it.”
Tonchi turmoil
The next editor on the hot seat may be Stefano Tonchi at W Magazine. A reliable publishing source said the top brass at Condé Nast are none too pleased with the direction the magazine is taking since he was hired to replace longtime editorial director Patrick McCarthy earlier this year.
The Kim Kardashian cover — where she appeared nude with strategically placed black bars — did not go over well at 4 Times Square, sources said. Shortly after the issue appeared, the creative director, Jody Quon, was gone, with no new replacement named.
Tonchi, who came from the New York Times insert T, has only been on the job since April.
Rather bio
Dan Rather, the former CBS News anchor who resigned acrimoniously from the network after a story on George W. Bush’s military record was discredited, has just inked a deal with the Grand Central Publishing imprint of Hachette for a memoir covering his 50 years in broadcast journalism.
Rather was the managing editor of CBS Evening News from March 1981 to March 2005.
Rick Wolff, the executive editor of Grand Central Publishing who reached the deal, said it will cover the full scope of Rather’s work, includ ing interviews with every American pres ident from Dwight Eisenhower to Bar ack Obama and major news events ranging from the JFK as sassination to live coverage of the 9/11 terror attacks.
It will also deal with his bitter departure from CBS when a supposed exposé on Bush blew up.
The book will be entitled “Summing Up” and is expected to be out in the spring of 2012. kkelly@nypost.com