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It's 2006 now, John Huey is totally, officially, completely, the new Time Inc. editor in chief, and today he makes his first move:

Martha Nelson, since 2002 managing editor of People, the world's most profitable magazine, has been elevated to editor of the People Group at the company, in which capacity she'll "focus on building the People franchise's future," according to the statement. Larry Hackett, currently People's deputy managing editor, will take over the magazine.

In a break with precedent, Huey is flying solo as the Time Inc. EIC, lacking an editor director to help him run things, as he — and earlier Walter Isaacson, and earlier than that Henry Muller — did for his EIC predecessor, Norm Pearlstine. It's sort of assumed Martha Nelson would eventually get the editorial-director gig — and in all likelihood become EIC after — and this move just paves the way.

Also, it's a good week to let the new guy start at People: The trapped-miner cover story basically writes itself.

Full announcement after the jump.

Time Inc.
For Immediate Release

MARTHA NELSON NAMED EDITOR, THE 'PEOPLE GROUP'
LARRY HACKETT APPOINTED MANAGING EDITOR OF 'PEOPLE' MAGAZINE

(New York, January 4, 2006) - Time Inc. Editor-In-Chief John Huey has named Martha Nelson editor, the PEOPLE Group, and Larry Hackett managing editor, PEOPLE, it was announced today.

"PEOPLE has had an extraordinary run of success during Martha's managing editorship," said Huey. "In addition to scoring impressive gains on the newsstand and maintaining its position as the industry's advertising juggernaut, Martha repositioned People.com as the go-to website for celebrity news. In the past year alone, People.com has doubled its unique visitors and increased page views six-fold."

He continued: "Larry's promotion is a direct reflection not only of his performance in his current job but of Martha's and my confidence in his ability to lead the weekly to even greater heights in an enormously competitive period." Noting the magazine's many achievements in 2005, including being named Advertising Age's "Magazine of the Year," Huey explained that these moves will secure PEOPLE's momentum moving forward.

In her new position, Nelson, who has been PEOPLE's managing editor since April 2002, will focus on building the PEOPLE franchise's future while still working with Hackett on strategic issues for the weekly magazine. Hackett, previously the magazine's deputy managing editor, will take over day-to-day operations for the weekly.

Martha Nelson was appointed PEOPLE's managing editor in April 2002, marking a return to the publication she left in 1993 to become the founding managing editor of In Style. As PEOPLE's managing editor, she reinvigorated the brand by evolving its design and expanding its media properties. In addition to the weekly and annual special issues, Nelson expanded the magazine's special Stylewatch issues and launched The Hollywood Daily, an industry guide to the biggest award shows, and Your Diet, a modern handbook for losing weight. Nelson was recently named one of the media industry's "21 Most Intriguing" by Media Industry News, Forbes named her one of the "World's Most Powerful Women" for two consecutive years, and she previously received a "Matrix Award" from New York Women in Communications.

Larry Hackett was named deputy managing editor at PEOPLE magazine in December 2004. He joined the weekly in 1998 as a senior editor. In 2001 he was named an assistant managing editor, overseeing the magazine's entertainment coverage, and he was promoted to the post of executive editor in August 2003. Prior to joining PEOPLE, Hackett worked for more than eight years at the New York Daily News as a national reporter, entertainment reporter and features editor.

PEOPLE revolutionized personality journalism in 1974 and is today the world's most successful and popular magazine. In October 2005, the weekly was named "Magazine of the Year" by Advertising Age for its excellence in editorial, circulation and advertising. Each week, PEOPLE brings more than 40 million readers the latest news, inside scoops, exclusive interviews and in-depth reporting on the most compelling people of our time. In addition to unparalleled access to and coverage of the entertainment community, the stories of real-life heroes, angels and crusaders remain an essential component of the magazine's editorial approach. With reporters across the globe, the magazine is headquartered in New York City and has editorial bureaus in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Chicago, Miami, Austin and London. For more information visit www.people.com.

Time Inc. is the world's leading magazine publisher, with 154 titles that are read more than 300 million times worldwide on a monthly basis and account for nearly a quarter of the total advertising revenues of U.S. consumer magazines.

Time Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., a leading media and entertainment company, whose businesses include services, cable systems, filmed entertainment, television networks and publishing.

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