The top editor of Martha Stewart’s flagship magazine has been bounced as part of a restructuring designed to cope with rapidly declining advertising revenue.
Michael Boodro confirmed yesterday that he is leaving Martha Stewart Living magazine nearly two years to the day since he arrived from LTB Media to replace Margaret Roach.
Gail Towey, chief creative officer of the company, will become acting editor. She’s been with the company since its inception, and started out as the magazine’s first art director when it was a Time Inc. start-up title.
“I’m leaving next Friday after closing the April issue,” Boodro said. “They are restructuring the magazine. I think it’s just a way to have fewer staff.”
News of the leadership change broke a day after founder Martha Stewart was inducted into the American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame.
Towey takes over at a time when it looks as if the high-end decorating, design and entertaining magazine is heading toward another down year. For the first two months of 2009, Media Industry Newsletter reported the magazine’s ad pages plunged 37 percent to 106.69.