Business

SOURING ON SWEDES

A year after Swedish publishing giant Bonnier Group acquired Time Inc.’s Time 4 Media operation, unrest still reigns among the newcomers.

According to people familiar with the situation, former Time Inc. employees are still up in arms over the cost-cutting mandates being issued by Bonnier.

Many of the big-name editors who moved to Bonnier when the Time 4 Media and Parenting Group were sold by Time Warner to Bonnier for $220 million have since left – some voluntarily, some suddenly.

Janet Chan, the longtime editorial director of the Parenting Group and a past winner of a National Magazine Award, is the latest casualty. Chan, who was away this week and not reachable, is now an editorial consultant.

“Her leaving was a big surprise,” said one insider. “I think she didn’t want to make some of the changes that they wanted her to make.”

Chan was said to have clashed with Publisher Greg Schulman, who was pushing for new directions at the behest of the CEO.

Among the changes rumored to be in the works is a shift of the magazine from its original focus on newborns and toddlers toward a broader-focused magazine aimed at moms with children of a wider age range.

The company would only confirm that it’s examining a change in strategy, but wouldn’t disclose details.

Chan’s one-time protégé, Susan Kane, who was most recently editing the Baby Talk magazine, replaced Chan as editorial director. Kane’s former position remains open.

Despite promises at the time of the takeover from Bonnier top executive Jonas Bonnier that there would be no major disruptions, insiders say there was a monstrous clash of cultures once the deal was completed in February 2007.

Among the changes the new workers are enduring is the loss of stock options and the slashing in the match on 401(k)d funds to 2 percent.

Bonnier had previously taken a big stake in World Publications, which counted the foodie title Saveur and the enthusiast magazine Sport Diver as its biggest-circulation magazines. Both of them sold under 400,000.

In contrast, many of the Time Inc. titles were in the 1 million-plus bracket, topped by the 1.5 million-circulation Field & Stream and the 2.1 million-circulation Parenting title.

On the editorial side, the changes began last October when Field and Stream Editor-in-Chief Sid Evans suddenly quit to head south as the editor of the start-up title Garden & Gun.

A week later, Dave DiBenedetto quit his Bonnier-owned mag azine Salt Water Sportsman to follow Evans as his No. 2 at Garden & Gun.

More recently, the trend has accelerated.

Mark Peruzzi, who was editing Skiing magazine for the past 3 ½ years, was out last month and replaced by his No. 2, Jake Bogoch.

Kendall Hamilton, editor-in-chief of Ski Magazine, is also out, replaced by his second-in-command Greg Ditrinco.

Hamilton, however, is staying with the company as the development editor of the lifestyle and travel group, which includes Saveur, Garden Design, Caribbean Travel & Life and Florida Travel & Life.

Bonnier’s top man in the US, Terry Snow, who led World Publications when it merged with Time 4 Media, said he is busy investing in a new culture of the merged companies.

He denies favoring employees of his former company, and says several Time Inc. hands have moved up the ranks. However, he admits not everyone is comfortable with the changes.

On his outlook for 2008, he said, “It is going to be a struggle for everyone this year, including us, but we’ll definitely be up over 2007.”

He said he expected the group, which has close to 1,000 employees, to have revenue of around $360 million, up by single digits from a year ago.

King David

Some have called him a mega-brand developer, while others see him as a shameless self-promoter.

But on Monday, Men’s Health Editorial Director David Zinczenko will be crowed Editor of the Year by Adweek.

“Men’s Health is on fire,” said Tony Case, Adweek’s special reports editor. “The flagship is doing well and they have two smash spin-offs in Women’s Health and Best Life.”

Case said he was aware of the controversy that swirls around Zinczenko, who is also the author of a several bestselling books and is a frequent guest on NBC’s “Today” show.

“He is a little bit controversial, because he is so overexposed,” he said. “He’s got his detractors. Anytime you are that exposed, you are going to have your enemies.”

Some of the controversy is generated by his high-octane dating partners – everyone from Rose McGowan to Julia Allison – as well as his comments on sexual relations.

Still, Case found that his drawbacks don’t hurt, and in some cases actually enhance Zinczenko’s overall package.

“There’s nothing the guy won’t do to extend the brand,” Case said.

To find its Start-Up of the Year, Adweek had to reach back to a magazine that started in 2005: Men’s Vogue.

“There are so few high-profile launches, we went back to 2005,” said Case. In fact, there was only a single test issue in 2005, followed by three somewhat erratically scheduled test issues in 2006. In 2007, the magazine began publishing on a regular basis when it appeared eight times.

On Monday, Adweek also publishes its closely watched Hot List, but Case wouldn’t reveal the winner in advance.

“All I’ll say is that the No. 1 magazine was on the list last year,” he said.

And finally in an expansion, Adweek also picked people.com as its magazine Web site of the year.

Case said the Web version veers away from the human-interest stories that sometimes crop up in the print edition and devotes the entire site to celebrity news and gossip.

Vince’s kids

Vince McMahon and his World Wrestling Entertainment think that their magazine for grown-ups is going so well that they are now going to produce a version aimed at children to be called WWE Kids.

Interestingly, Wal-Mart, which recently booted SI for Kids as part of a national purging of 1,400 magazine titles, is going to be one of the outlets carrying the new wrestling mag.

“We have a Wal-Mart program that is polybagging it with the WWE Magazine,” said WWE Publishing Director Bob Lee. A standalone magazine will hit newsstands on April 15 with a $3.95 cover price.

Lee labels the move as a “logical brand extension” that should break even by the end of its first year.

Though pundits may scoff at the idea of a WWE magazine aimed at kids, Editorial Director Tony Romando insists this version of the magazine is an “entertainment and educational book” that leaves out the head bashing shown on TV.

The magazine is starting with a rate base of only 100,000, and is aimed at children aged 6 to 14.

Romando said the magazine features puzzle solving, art projects, physical fitness as well as jokes.

“It encourages kids to eat right, have a good laugh – and make some fake puke while you’re at it,” said Romando. keith.kelly@nypost.com