+ confirmed: stefano tonchi will edit w magazine

 Stefano Tonchi. (photo courtesy of Conde Nast.)

After much speculation in the media world on who would take the helm of W Magazine, it was confirmed yesterday that Stefano Tonchi will start his new position as Editor in Chief beginning April 12 of this year. As for the reasoning behind this selection, it is a well known fact that he has connections to potential fashion advertisers dating from his time as Editor in Chief of T Magazine for the New York Times. This factor alone was probably strong enough to encourage Conde Nast to select Tonchi so he could bring life to a magazine that has been languishing recently. It was reported that W's advertising pages decreased by 45.8% in 2009, and already another 18% decline has been reported for 2010. Tonchi has said that to accomplish this he will make W less of a "fashion-obsessed" magazine and make it into a more "general interest style magazine."

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We wish Mr. Tonchi luck in his new position, and hope he can save W from extinction.

+ ...another game of musical chairs at conde nast.

 (W Magazine cover courtesy of www.dailystab.com)

Andre Leon Talley. (photo courtesy of Patrick McMullan.)

Stefano Tonchi. (photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

Joe Zee. (photo courtesy of www.stylistafanatic.com)

With the sharp decline in advertising pages in recent editions of W Magazine, it was about time a change in the magazine's structure would arrive. W and WWD will no longer share any senior staff, now that Conde Nast moved all business and editorial operations out of Fairchild Publications. Speculation begins now on who will replace long time editor in chief Patrick McCarthy for W. The New York Times had announced yesterday Stefano Tonchi (New York Times Style Magazine editor) as the front runner for the role, while blogger Bryanboy has speculated that Andre Leon Talley was being shuffled for the position due to title changes observed in the masthead for Vogue's April edition. Talley went from being Editor at Large to a Contributing Editor, but an announcement from Vogue was published online on New York Magazine's website today, calling this change "just a title change." This change is likely the result of his recent stint as judge for America's Next Top Model and other freelance projects on the horizon. The Vogue announcement also stated that his column and blog would remain intact. An insider from Conde Nast also points to Joe Zee from Elle as a possible front runner for the job.

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Whoever inherits the new position at W will have big shoes to fill in, and face the task of  making the magazine successful again in order to avoid a similar fate like that of some magazines shut down at Conde Nast. With advertising revenues down in the world of print media, creating revenue will become a priority. The editorial content may also experience changes, but hopefully not too many lest they risk becoming uninspiring and irrelevant.