peacelover142002
go red sox
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November 7, 2006 -- Atoosa Rubenstein, the high-profile editor-in-chief of Seventeen magazine, is leaving the top-selling teen title to launch her own teen-centered Web business, write a book and start a consulting firm specializing in the youth market.
Rubenstein said the decision to step down and walk away from a pay package believed to be in the mid- to high six-figure range was hers alone.
"I'm a risk taker," she said. "I don't play the game in a safe way. I've never been driven by power or money. I've always had a very strong relationship with our audience, and I hope to develop that in a more immediate and visceral way."
Her departure is the latest jolt to a marketplace that has been rocked by the shutdown of two teen titles in the past year by leading publishing giants: Time Inc. shut down Teen People and Hachette Filipacchi Media shut down Elle Girl. Both are keeping their names alive on the Web.
Two years ago, once-hot YM magazine was shut down by Gruner + Jahr USA, and its circulation list was sold to Condé Nast's Teen Vogue.
Rubenstein was an editor who seemed to enjoy an almost cult-like following, but one who also absorbed some caustic barbs from critics. More recently, as a number of top staffers exited, Page Six wrote that some disgruntled staffers dubbed her Atoosa the Hun.
She also generated controversy recently when she booked Paris Hilton for the December cover that is now hitting newsstands. When Hilton was arrested for drunk driving, she was able to keep the cover provided she did a public service ad warning about the dangers of drunk driving that also appears in the magazine.
Rubenstein said she has hooked up with CAA's Kevin Huvane to explore her next move and hopes to begin working on a book that is expected to be part how-to and part memoir.
Source: NY Post
I'm sad about this, because I think Atoosa is awesome. I've followed her since she was the CosmoGirl! editor, where she did an amazing job. However, she has not done such a good job at Seventeen, so I hope the new editor will make it better.