In a tepid (at best) media climate, Us Weekly is one of the few hot publications around. So it’s hardly a surprise (despite the infamous 7 a.m. closings) that Bonnie Fuller has been able to lure an amazing number of editors-in-chief, most of them freelance.
Joe Dolce, founding editor of Fashion Wire Daily and former editor-in-chief of Details, has a temporary stint editing stories and front-of-the-book pieces (the “Faces and Places” section). The gig has brought him back into contact with his old sparring partner Brandusa Niro, also a former editor-in-chief of FWD, now responsible for Us Daily, Fuller’s sparky Fashion Week supplement.
Meanwhile, Michael Solomon, former editor-in-chief of Premiere, is sprucing up features under a similar temp arrangement. Also editing features is Cathy Cavender, erstwhile editor of the soon-to-be-defunct Rosie, whose dismissal by Gruner + Jahr in late June set off the public spat between editorial director and namesake Rosie O’Donnell and G+J management (and we all know how that turned out).
“We’re really fortunate to have their talent available to us,” says Bonnie Fuller. “It takes time to staff up. And it made sense for their schedules.” Adds an Us wag: “You could put together a great magazine with all of the editors out of work. It’s only a matter of time before Tina Brown shows up.” Or perhaps Rosie could edit the “Loose Talk” section?