It turns out that the changes at O, The Oprah Magazine under new Editor-in-Chief Susan Casey are more than just cosmetic — she’s done a major scrub of the top of the masthead.
Although Hearst earlier this week announced Pat Towers was retiring as features editor, with many of her old duties now being assumed by Sara Nelson, the mag’s new book director, Towers isn’t the only one departing.
Also out in the shuffle is Design Director Kerry Robertson and Deputy Editor Sudie Redmond.
And more may be leaving in the weeks ahead with the arrivals of Tyler Graham as the magazine’s new health and environment editor and Jennifer Rainey Marquez as senior editor.
“It’s my impression that Susan hated the design,” said one source. “One of the first things she did was get rid of the designer.”
Casey had been working with a number of outside designers and then hired as Robertson’s replacement Patrick Mitchell, a former award-winning design director at Nylon.
The magazine, which is the second most profitable in the Hearst empire behind Cosmopolitan, is a joint venture with Oprah Winfrey‘s Harpo Productions.
Casey replaced Susan Reed, who held the job for only a year.
“The past editor was a disaster,” said one former Hearst employee, who recalled that there was so much conflict among the staff that Winfrey herself had to get involved to quell the burgeoning mutiny.
In a bid to more closely align aspects of the magazine with “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Casey added a new monthly column by Dr. Mehmet Oz, the plain-talking doctor who has been a frequent guest on Winfrey’s talk show.
“Every time there is a direct link with the show, it’s good for 100,000 in circulation,” said one source.
While the magazine is still the most successful launch of the past decade, there is a fear that its growth has plateaued.
This year, its ad-page count sank 31.3 percent through the September issue, according to Media Industry Newsletter. That’s steeper than the average 22 percent decline for monthly consumer magazines.
Meanwhile, its paid circulation of 2.4 million was actually up 2.7 percent in the first half of 2009, but the newsstand portion of that — a closely watched indicator of a magazine’s strength — fell 5.6 percent in the first half to just over 693,000.
Her role at the Oprah mag marks the first time Casey has run a mainstream women’s magazine. Her past experience is in the sports and adventure category. Casey, who teamed up to win an unprecedented three consecutive National Magazine Awards for General Excellence when she was the editor of Outside, is also an author, having penned the bestseller “The Devil’s Teeth.”
She is expected to undertake grander design changes in the months ahead, sources said, but Casey herself declined to return calls for comment.
Out of touch
Bauer Publications has lost Mark Oltarsh, vice president and group publisher of its entertainment group.
“A search for his replacement will begin immediately,” said Ian Scott, president of the Bauer Media Group.
Oltarsh, who held the job for 3½ years, is heading to the dot-com world.
Meanwhile, in another sign of pruning on the editorial side, In Touch Executive Editor Annabel Vered, who recently returned from maternity leave, is also out.
“We’re restructuring the editorial department and we eliminated that position,” said a spokeswoman.