looks like AMI is leaving California for NYC..
Pecker plan
Rumors have been swirling for weeks that American Media CEO David Pecker was getting ready to pull out of the offices in Woodland Hills, Calif., that he has been renting from vitamin king Joe Weider ever since he purchased Weider Publications in 2002 for $350 million.
Over the past two years, budgets and staff have been cut after Weider's biggest advertiser, Hydroxycut, under pressure from the FDA, issued a voluntary recall of its product in 2009 and halted advertising for a year. Some 500 ad pages disappeared from Muscle & Fitness. Staffers complained that no raises have been handed out for at least the past two years.
Earlier this month, vice president of human resources Ken Slivken flew in and began interviewing everyone working on Muscle & Fitness, Flex, Fit Pregnancy and Natural Health.
"The claim was 'auditing' but the rumors abound that he plans to move the magazines from their Woodland Hills offices to New York so he can keep a closer eye on them," said one insider.
Yesterday, at least some of the prediction came true when Muscle & Fitness workers were informed that the title's 12-member editorial staff will be moving to New York in January and getting a new editorial director.
Seth Kelly, a one-time top editor at Maxim, who had recently been running the Ultimate Fighting quarterly that American Media produces in New York, will be the new editorial director of Muscle & Fitness.
Kelly is also being named the editorial director of Flex and Muscle & Fitness Hers, although Allan Donelly will continue to serve as editor of Flex and Muscle & Fitness Hers. If any of the staffers of Muscle & Fitness make the move East, they may not want to unpack their boxes. They will be mov ing into One Park Ave. in January, but AMI has already signed a long-term lease to move far downtown to 4 New York Plaza in May.
AMI, which has about 70,000 square feet at its current Manhattan address will be taking over two floors with about 80,000 square feet when it moves into the 20-story office tower. The expectation is that the remaining Woodlands Hills staffers will be filling that space next spring.
kkelly@nypost.com
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