A Soft Landing for Peter Kaplan
Following his departure as editor of the New York Observer yesterday, Peter Kaplan is set to land at Condé Nast Traveler, Women's Wear Daily reports. It's a cushy gig he's earned.
Hollywood blogger Nikki Finke wrote yesterday that Kaplan might have been an excellent editor for the New Yorker, or Portfolio, if he hadn't been too busy sharpening the Observer to campaign for the jobs. David Carr's New York Times story on Kaplan ended with a quote from a former underling who mused it only seemed natural that Kaplan should be "running a major publication in New York."
But after 15 years sweating newspaper deadlines on top of the Observer — a longer tenure than any other editor at the paper — it would make sense if Kaplan relished the chance to work at the slower pace of a glossy travel monthly.
WWD reports Kaplan is set to assume the number-two slot at Traveler recently vacated by Ted Moncreiff.
The young millionaire owner of the Observer Jared Kushner, meanwhile, gave the Post a quote that makes it sound like Kaplan was pushed out:
We decided about a month ago that it was time for him to move on.
The "we" in that sentence is Kaplan and Kushner, but the implication is still basically the same: Kushner wanted this change as much as Kaplan did. That Kushner would highlight this as Kaplan is leaving either points to a serious lack of tact on his part, a cache of interpersonal animosity that's been kept hidden from public view, or (probably) a combination of both those things.