CoverAwards' World Exclusive: Bonnie Fuller is Consulting For OK! Magazine As Sales Plummet!

UPDATE:  MORE BIG NEWS AT OK!

On Wednesday, CoverAwards reported exclusively that Bonnie Fuller was consulting for OK! Magazine and that she was overseeing the hiring of new PR people.  On the same day of our exclusive news, Lisa Dallos, who used to work with Bonnie at Us Weekly, confirmed that she and her PR firm Freud Communications were hired by OK!

Today, the NY Post is reporting that Susan Toepfer, who was most recently editing the now-defunct Hearst weekly Quick & Simple and former deputy managing editor of People, will become OK magazine’s new editor-in-chief.

Toepfer brings a tremendous amount of celebrity weekly experience to OK!  She spent nearly 15 years at People Magazine, from senior writer to deputy managing editor.

She replaces Sarah Ivens, who had come from the British version of OK! to launch the US version three years ago, reports Keith Kelly.

Meanwhile, Tom Morrissey is out as publisher and Lori Burgess, who had most recently been a senior vice president and publications director at Niche Media before she resigned suddenly in March.

OK! has also hired Trey Speegle, who had been working freelance at Radar, to be the new executive creative director. He had earlier worked at Us Weekly under Liz Betts.

ORIGINAL REPORT

Bonnie Fuller, former Editorial Director of American Media, and former Editor in Chief of Us Weekly Magazine, is “consulting” for OK! Magazine, industry insiders tell CoverAwards exclusively.

“Bonnie Fuller is hiring public relations people,” according to a source.

The insider added that Fuller herself is overseeing the hiring of public relationships people and has called one individual directly to recruit that person for a job at OK!.

This is not surprising as OK! recently lost Executive Editor Rob Shuter, who appeared to be playing a dual role in editorial and PR.

The bigger question is whether or not Bonnie Fuller is assisting old pal and recently hired OK! General Manager Kent Brownridge on the editorial front.  The two worked together at Us Weekly, but had a roller coaster working relationship, according to an insiders.

The last couple of OK covers have looked very Bonnie-esque, observed our sources.

Is Bonnie Helping or Hurting?

According to multiple industry sources, sales for OK! have been very low.  For example, last week’s issue featuring Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens was dramatically under 400K on the newsstand.

If Bonnie Fuller has been helping Kent Brownridge on the editorial front, these recent newsstand numbers may point to a bleak future for the magazine.

Trouble at the Top!

In addition to sagging numbers, there’s been a tremendous amount of staff turmoil at the top of the OK! masthead.

Editor in Chief Sarah Ivens recently resigned, but in a very unusual move is staying on board to help find her replacement.  In addition, the magazine still has not replaced recently departed executive editors Juliet Heller or Rob Shuter leaving the magazine with one executive editor and an editor in chief with one foot out the door.

“We currently have one executive editor, Katie Caperton, and I’ve learned that we plan to have at least two at that position, possibly three,” said an OK! spokesperson.

“We’re waiting on a new editor-in-chief, so it’ll be up to that person to help make decisions on any hire(s),” added the spokesperson.

It is interesting to note that the magazine is “waiting” for an editor in chief and not “seeking” or “hiring” a new EIC, which leads me to believe that the hire has already been made but the person is not available to join the team at this moment.

Plus, with Bonnie Fuller in the background, it explains why OK! has not been in a gigantic rush to replace the departing Sarah Ivens.

An OK! spokesperson claims the Zac Efron & Vanessa Hudgens cover looks to be a “medium seller” and that OK! is “holding steady.”