PYPER BLOWS TOWN: Us Weekly’s masthead, formerly so top-heavy, is slimming down fast. Editor in chief Janice Min notified her staff Wednesday that Sarah Pyper, hired away from In Touch a year ago to be special projects editor, is leaving to return to her native England. Her last day will be April 13. Should she decide to remain in the U.S., she’ll have to wait until October, when her non-compete agreement runs out, to find a new position.
Pyper’s exit follows that of executive editor Nicola McCarthy, who quit in January to help British tabloid baron Richard Desmond bring OK magazine to the U.S. Wenner Media, which still had McCarthy under contract, promptly sued, winning a favorable settlement that prohibits her from helming OK until next year — assuming the launch goes forward.
POACHED PUBLISHER A LA MARTHA: Martha Stewart Living named a new publisher Thursday, striking a blow for a sister publication in the process. Sally Preston, who was vice president and publisher of Organic Style, will replace Suzanne Sobel, who resigned last month as MSL’s senior vice president and publisher. Parent company Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia recently relaunched Body + Soul, a natural health and lifestyle magazine it acquired last year. It competes directly with Organic Style, which now must hire its third publisher in six months. Founding publisher Bernadette Haley, recently named publisher of Quick & Simple, stepped down in August.