Daily Front Row

2012 September 27

Confirmed, at last: Deborah Needleman Leaves WSJ. For T

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Deborah Needleman
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(NEW YORK) After weeks of speculation, it's (finally) confirmed: Deborah Needleman is leaving her post as editor-in-chief at WSJ. for the same title at T: The New York Times Style Magazine. As Sally Singer's successor, Needleman will start the new gig immediately following a 2.5-year stint as EIC at the Journal's stylish glossy. Singer departed T last month, two years after assuming the editorship following 11 years at Vogue.

"Deborah is a super talented editor, as well as a lovely person, and I couldn't be more excited that she's coming to work at the Times," Hugo Lindgren, editor-in-chief of The New York Times Magazine, told The Daily today. 

Prior to nabbing the top job at WSJ., Needleman was the founding editor-in-chief of Domino, that particularly beloved erstwhile Condé shelter title (which resurfaced on newsstands earlier this year for a purportedly one-off special edition). Needleman began helming WSJ. in July 2010 after getting acquainted with the ways of News Corp as a consultant for the Journal's lifestyle potpourri in a new Saturday section, later named Off Duty that fall. As for the allure of chez Murdoch? "I was brought in to work on a prototype for a new Saturday section. After it was approved, I came back to work on it, got seduced by the place, and ended up staying, slightly by accident," Needleman told The Daily in September 2010. Needleman edited Off Duty concurrently with WSJ. for nearly one year, before passing the bulk of Off Duty's duties to Ruth Altchek in August 2011. 

What state is Needleman leaving WSJ. and Off Duty in? "I finally have my dream team of editors...Also, the mag keeps growing in influence and getting fatter every issue which is terribly exciting; I think the July issue is up 70 percent over last year." Needleman told The Daily in June. Her next destination may involve a bit of ad-centric TLC. During Singer's time in the EIC's seat, T experienced decreasing ad sales in 2011; this year, the mag saw ad pages slip further in roughly two-thirds of its 2012 issues. 

As for Singer's next move? Still discuss-worthy, given the dearth of details thus far.
ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV