Chaos seems to have enveloped the new beauty magazine, New You, which debuted earlier this year to tremendous fanfare.
It landed Courteney Cox on the cover of its premiere issue, and she showed it off when she appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” It also got a mention on NBC’s “Today” and several other talk shows — a lot of publicity for a small one-title publisher.
But then things got ugly fast.
Don Luciano, its creative and editorial director, was arrested by the FBI on Feb. 1 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for allegedly sending child porn over the Internet.
Court records show that he was being paid $15,000 a month to oversee the magazine.
Adding to New You’s woes, Editor-in-Chief Rachel Valis last week either quit or was fired after clashing with the owners over what a source called “creative differences.”
The company was started by Florida-based Great Health Works, headed by Ken Meares, a maker of diet and health pills.
“My understanding is that she [Valis] was fired — unexpectedly,” said one source. “I think in hindsight, Rachel is relieved as she doesn’t want to be pushing their Omega-3 products.”
Valis could not be reached for comment.
Lisa Anastos, who has blogged for Daily Front Row and run the charitable organization ArtHood, has been named as new president and executive editor of New You.
When queried about the recent departures, Anastos said, “We don’t comment on personnel matters.”
Anastos said the remaining staffers are working hard on the next issue of the quarterly. “We are now working on our second issue, the Natural Issue, which will hit newsstands on April 23.”
But they won’t be getting Luciano back any time soon. Federal court judge Lurana Snow rejected Luciano’s bail application, and he remains incarcerated.
“The defendant has boasted about his sexual involvement with underage boys and his sexual interest in infants and toddlers,” Snow wrote in court papers. In denying bail, Snow wrote that Luciano “constitutes a danger to the community.”
Luciano’s lawyer, Alan Ross, of Miami, said, “These are hotly contested charges and they will be vigorously defended.”
Empty-handed
While top managers at Warner Bros., Turner and other units inside Time Warner were awarded their restricted stock units yesterday for their work over the past year, insiders at the beleaguered Time Inc. magazine unit came away empty-handed.
That held true even for staffers at Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune, which would not be among the titles spun off into a new company as part of a deal under discussion with Meredith.
Normally, the restricted stock units would be awarded to about 20 percent of the employees of Time Inc. by the end of February.
“Nothing has been decided,” said one insider, although he said the jilted employees might be getting shares in the new company if an agreement is reached in the next few weeks.
“It’s one of the things they are talking about,” he said of the talks, which were slated to be conducted in Chicago and via conference call this week.
Adding insult to injury, Time Inc. CEO Laura Lang has already told all 8,000 employees that there would be no pay hikes this year.
“No raises. No stock. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?” said one source.
Buzzed off
Buzz Media said it will cut 50 jobs, or about 20 percent of its 250 workers, as the money-losing site looks to streamline its operations.
The belt-tightening apparently convinced its Silicon Valley backers to pump more money into the Web publisher, which is still unprofitable after seven years of operation.
BuzzMedia runs a network of pop culture websites, including Fanpop, Stereogum, Buzznet Idolator and Spin, which was converted to a digital-only publication after its takeover.
The company would seem to be in a sweet spot, with close to 40 million monthly unique visitors and a top 40 ranking, according to comScore.
But critics point out that its visitors are fleeting, with the average time spent on many of its sites less than 120 seconds.
“My focus is on growing our audience, that’s where I want to focus our energy,” said CEO Steve Hansen, who replaced longtime chief Tyler Goldman in a shake-up late last year.
The new round of funding, which was rumored to be in the works for a while, came through this month with $10 million from original investors including Anthem Ventures, Intel, NEA, Red Point and Sutter Hill. The company also secured $5 million in debt financing.
Hansen said the company will turn a profit this year with revenues hitting $40 million, up 20 percent over 2012.