SPECULATION is building that Time Inc. CEO Ann Moore will pull a “Bloomberg” and reverse her decision to step down when her current three-year contract expires in 18 months.
Said one insider, “Unlike [Mayor] Mike Bloomberg, there’s no legal impediment that she would have to undo to stay around” past the March-April 2010 expiration date.
When she signed her current contract, Moore said it would be her last and that she planned to step down when it expired.
Moore, through a spokeswoman, yesterday declined to comment on the contract’s status.
The speculation that she’ll stick around comes against an ominous backdrop: Sources say that Time Inc. will unveil a new round of layoffs in the very near future.
“We continue to evaluate our cost structure,” a Time Inc. spokeswoman told Media Ink.
Time Inc. currently has about 7,000 US-based employees, including 3,500 in New York, where most of the cuts are rumored to be centered. Globally, Time Inc. employs 10,200 people.
In a recent interview with the Times of London, Moore spoke of her ongoing “two-year strategy.”
That raised eyebrows, since most executives with only 18 months left would be more aggressively pursuing transition talk.
But most Time Inc. titles are tumbling from the recession. Overall advertising revenue is down 9 percent in the first half of this year, and some of the company’s most prestigious titles – including top moneymaker People, which accounts for roughly half of Time Inc.’s profits – are taking it on the chin.
Nevertheless, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes doesn’t seem to be taking it out on Moore. What’s more, he also doesn’t seem to be aggressively looking for a Moore successor.
Bewkes also has to be pleased that Time Inc., which had about $5.5 billion in revenue and $907 million in profit last year, is now getting about 15 percent of its revenue from digital operations. That’s far more than rivals Hearst or Condé Nast collect.
The Web sites for Sports Illustrated and People are among the top 15 revenue-producing units at Time, which has 120 magazines and 40 Web sites worldwide.
“She has had a major turnaround in terms of her perception from corporate,” said one industry source.
Consultant Peter Kreisky, said of the Web strategy, “It’s all about putting resources against brands that are scaleable or sustainable. The minor brands that don’t fit into a hub will have to fight for resources.”
In contrast, Hearst shut down three unprofitable magazines in the past few months, and Condé Nast is placing a $125 million long-shot bet on the sagging Portfolio magazine achieving profitability.
In the Times of London interview, Moore said, “I don’t know if there will be layoffs. But there will be a sharing of resources across brands.”
Moore pointed to the recent Time cover story, “How Wall Street Sold Out America,” which was written by Fortune magazine’s top editor, Andy Serwer, and noted economic and Fortune columnist Allan Sloan.
That kind of cross-magazine sharing on the editorial side was virtually unheard of in the past, and marked the first time that a managing editor of one magazine contributed and co-wrote a cover story on another title.
Moore also dropped some broad hints that the Fortune-Time experiment could be a blueprint for the future.
“Time was happy – it got two great writers for its cover. Who was unhappy? Maybe Time’s five business writers, but they got to blog on the topic,” said Moore.
Asian style
Well, it is good to know everyone is not heading for the hills.
Singapore-based CR Media, owned by Jane Leong, is planning to introduce its flagship lifestyle magazine Prestige to the US with a February 2009 debut.
The magazine is trying to cultivate high-end luxury readers and advertisers and plans to send the magazine free to about 50,000 recipients.
Rhonda Palmer, who had edited the Singapore edition until two years ago, is heading to the US as the new editor-in-chief.
“It is going to be harder to do this than if we were trying to do the same kind of thing a year earlier, but hard doesn’t mean impossible,” Palmer said.
Leong has hired Bob Guccione Jr. to be a launch consultant.
“I believe this is the first time an Asian publisher is coming here,” said Guccione. “Usually, we are gong there.”
After launching in New York, he said CR Media hopes to introduce the title in other cities.
In Singapore, the company also publishes August Men, Lux Living, Gadgetry and under license the French title L’Official.
The company’s plan looks similar to one tried by Absolut when it launched with high hopes, a European backer and former New York magazine editor Caroline Miller.
Absolut’s strategy was to introduce the magazine in New York first and then expand to five to 10 other US cities. Instead, the magazine became embroiled in a nasty suit with Absolut vodka, was eventually sold and then shut down by its new owner.
Prestige is also entering a crowded segment occupied by publishers ranging from Niche Media’s Gotham to Hearst’s Town & Country and Modern Luxury’s recently introduced Manhattan.
“They’re all good titles but nobody reads just one magazine a month,” Palmer said. “We’re a local magazine, but we’ll have rich international content.”
Added Guccione, “Rich people aren’t going to stop enjoying themselves.”
And he said CR Media, unlike the backer of Absolut, has had experience launching Prestige in five other countries before coming to the US. keith.kelly@nypost.com