Condé Nast has tapped Cosmopolitan executive editor Joyce Chang as editor in chief of Self magazine, the publishing company announced today. She begins on May 1.
Chang succeeds Lucy Danziger, who is leaving after 13 years at the helm of the women's health and fitness monthly. Laura McEwen, who earlier had been vp, publisher of Teen Vogue and associate publisher of Vogue, is also exiting.
Self has been in a tough spot as of late, having apologized for poking fun at a cancer survivor's outfit. The 1.5 million-circ magazine has also been struggling both on the newsstand, where single-copy sales were down 10 percent in the second half of 2013, and in ad pages, which fell 5.7 percent in 2013. (By comparison, competitor Women’s Health saw its own ad pages jump 28 percent last year.)
Last year, Condé Nast artistic director and Vogue EIC Anna Wintour was brought in to help revive Self. The magazine sought to target a younger audience, adding more fashion and beauty, reported the New York Times, but still failed to attract more advertisers: According to Women’s Wear Daily, the magazine’s ad pages fell another 21 percent this year through May.
Chang has had an illustrious career to date and is a veteran of two Condé Nast titles—Lucky and Allure.
Prior to Hearst's Cosmo, Chang was executive editor at Marie Claire and held editorial roles at Time Inc.'s People StyleWatch and People, as well as The New York Times Magazine. Chang is also the third of Cosmo editor in chief Joanna Coles’ former executive editors to become the editor in chief another title—Lucy Kaylin, the editor of O, The Oprah Magazine, and Anne Fulenwider, editor of Marie Claire (and, prior to that, Brides), both served as Coles’ second-in-command at Marie Claire.
“I am so pleased to welcome Joyce back to Condé Nast,” said Wintour in a statement. “Her diverse resume of experiences has taught her the power of a strong and intelligent woman. I’m excited to see the new direction she will bring to Self.”
- With Emma Bazilian