Daily Front Row

2010 June 17

EIC Vacancy Alert! All Betts Are On?

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Tina Gaudoin
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(NEW YORK) Kate Betts, check your voicemail. Today's shocking(ish) announcement that Tina Gaudoin is resigning from her EIC post at WSJ. magazine means that Rupert Murdoch and managing editor Robert Thompson have a void to fill, and fast. Gaudoin, who resigned "for personal reasons" and will return to her native London in August, launched the Journal's glossy advertiser bait in September 2008 and guided it through a period of growth. (It now produces 6 issues a year and enjoys the Journal's circulation of 1.6 million in the United States, Europe, and Asia.)

WSJ.'s most recent issue, featuring a Mickey Drexler cover story, debuted last weekend, so the incoming EIC will have approximately 6 weeks to produce the next edition—provided that a decision is made quickly. Of course, deputy editor Owen Phillips is already in the office. But Betts' high-level luxury advertiser contacts and her previous affiliation with other hard-news outlets (namely, Time) make her a logical choice. A current contributor to Time and The Daily Beast, Betts' book, Everyday Icon: Michelle Obama and the Power of Style, will debut in February 2011.
ASHLEY BAKER