T Magazine (Photo credit: The New York Times).

The summer travel issue of T, the Times's luxury magazine that was included in this Sunday's paper, drew some reader criticism, public editor Margaret Sullivan noted today in a blog post.

The cover showed a rather slender model dressed in a lace one piece, with wet hair and a leather jacket slung over one shoulder and the accompanying feature, which was a round-up of models in black bathing suits and  leather cover ups, promoted readers to declare the model too thin and too young, and the feature too bondadge-y.

“Where did you get this child for your cover? The photo represents kiddy porn and I object," wrote Jane Sherman of Westport, Connecticut. "I’m a long time print subscriber to The New York Times and I don’t want to read a newspaper that’s moving into sleaze for dirty old men."

If nothing else, that seems to be an original way to describe the paper of record.

Another reader, Margaret Wheeler, who Ms. Sullivan notes "lives in France and described herself as a former writer and producer at ABC News" objected to the timing of cover.

"As a woman, I was infuriated to see the current cover of T Magazine, which featured an anorexic-looking model," Ms. Wheeler wrote. "The additional photos in the shoot featured in the magazine were of similar super-thin models — and this on Mother’s Day weekend, when we should be celebrating some more realistic picture of womanhood."

We didn't know that that was the point of Mother's Day (and, as a side note, it seems that Fête des Mères, the French equivalent of the holiday, is actually celebrated on 26 Mai). But fair enough.

T editor Deborah Needleman answered the charge, noting that the cover model, while thin and young, is actually really smart.

"Julia Nobis, the model, is a 20-year-old undergraduate studying medicine," Ms. Needleman responded on the public editor's blog. "She is rather thin for my taste, as most models are, and I considered adding some fat to her with Photoshop, but decided that as it is her body, I’d let it be."

Additionally, Ms. Needleman noted that despite the fact that black bathing suits and leather jackets might be slightly risqué, they are a far cry from Fifty Shades of Grey-level S&M.

Ms. Sullivan, for her part, wrote that while she understands the readers objections, she found the photos to be "arresting but pretty mild, especially by today’s fashion magazine standards."

Photo credit: Oliver Strand.

Has the moment passed? Oliver Strand, T's coffee enthusiast and writer of the 'Ristretto' blog, posted on Twitter that today's post on the V60 Drip Scale from Hario would be his last. Mr. Strand said that his editor at T, the Times luxury mag, told him that they are ending all columns for the Moment page.

Mr. Strand, who is currently working on a book about coffee (what else), has gained a loyal following in his time as the chief coffee critic at the Times. His Ristretto column coincided with the rise of New York's boutique coffee shops that roast their own beans and coffee drinkers who care. 

"There is a huge audience for writing about coffee. Some editors are aware of it and some aren't" Mr. Strand said when we reached him this afternoon, noting that his editors are in the former camp. "The audience was hungry, or, to be corny, thirsty" for coffee coverage, Mr. Strand said.

Changes at T are not unexpected. The magazine has a new editor in chief--Deborah Needleman took over from Sally Singer in September. And new leadership usually means redesign.

UPDATE: “We will be refreshing the T Magazine website – with changes to the look and content," emailed Jane Herman Bishop, T's online editor. "I’ll let you know when we have more to announce.”

Ms. O'Neill, who held editorial roles at New York magazine and Time Out New York before moving to Harper's Bazaar in 2000, will report to Ruth Altchek. Ms. Altcheck will oversee the Off Duty lifestyle section and WSJ. Magazine in the newly created role of editorial director for WSJ Weekend.

“The appointment of Kristina, one of America’s most talented editors, marks a new phase of the exponential evolution of WSJ.,” said Robert Thomson, editor-in-chief of Dow Jones & Company and managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, in a statement. “We are increasing the frequency and expanding global reach in the coming year with our winning mix of intelligent writing and visual virtuosity – gloss without dross is our magazine mantra.”

The Journal will increase the frequency of WSJ. It recently announced plans to publish 11 issues in 2013 and 12 issues in 2014. The mag was a quarterly when it launched in 2008.

Full press release below:

Kristina O’Neill Named Editor of WSJ. Magazine

NEW YORK, Oct. 17, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Wall Street Journal announced today the appointment of Kristina O’Neill as editor of WSJ. Magazine. Effective Oct. 29, Ms. O’Neill will oversee all editorial content of WSJ., the Journal’s luxury lifestyle magazine that appears as part of WSJ Weekend. Ms. O’Neill most recently served as executive editor of Harper’s Bazaar magazine, where she has worked since 2000.

As the number two editor at Harper’s Bazaar, Ms. O’Neill helped drive the magazine’s editorial vision and direction. She was instrumental in more than a decade of designer coverage, collaborated with storied writers and photographers, oversaw brand extensions and was an integral part of the critically acclaimed March 2012 redesign.

“The appointment of Kristina, one of America’s most talented editors, marks a new phase of the exponential evolution of WSJ.,” said Robert Thomson, editor-in-chief of Dow Jones & Company and managing editor of The Wall Street Journal. “We are increasing the frequency and expanding global reach in the coming year with our winning mix of intelligent writing and visual virtuosity – gloss without dross is our magazine mantra.”

“I am absolutely thrilled to be joining The Wall Street Journal, with its incredible reputation and reach,” said Ms. O’Neill. “WSJ. Magazine is on a roll, and I can’t wait to pick up the momentum and create content that further drives the conversation.”

Ms. O’Neill will report to Ruth Altchek, who has been named to the newly created role of editorial director for WSJ Weekend, overseeing the Off Duty lifestyle section and WSJ. Magazine. Ms. Altchek has served as editor of Off Duty since August 2011, after joining the Journal as a news editor to help oversee the section’s September 2010 launch.

In conjunction with the November issue, WSJ. will celebrate its second annual Innovator of the Year Awards later this week in New York City, honoring winners across six categories, including Fashion, Architecture, Design, Education, Art and Technology, hosted by Mr. Thomson. The November Innovators issue will appear as part of WSJ Weekend on Saturday, Oct. 27.

The Journal recently announced plans to increase the frequency of WSJ., which will publish 11 issues in 2013 and 12 issues in 2014. The magazine launched in September 2008 as a quarterly publication. It appears globally as part of WSJ Weekend in the U.S. and in the Journal’s Europe and Asia editions as well as online via wsj.com/magazine.

About Ms. O’Neill

Ms. O’Neill most recently served as executive editor of Harper’s Bazaar, for which she has worked since October 2000. While with Harper’s Bazaar, she was editor-in-chief of the annual spin-off Runway Report magazine and executive editor on Harper’s Bazaar Greatest Hits book and Harper’s Bazaar Best Covers.

Prior to joining Harper’s Bazaar, Ms. O’Neill held editorial roles with New York Magazine and Time Out New York.

She has a bachelor of arts degree from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study.

About Ms. Altchek

Ms. Altchek has served as editor of Off Duty since August 2011. She joined the Journal in June 2010 as a news editor and helped managed the section’s 2010 launch.

Before joining the Journal, Ms. Altchek was senior editor at Martha Stewart Living from March 2009 to April 2010, where she helped launch the magazine’s new product section. Ms. Altchek also held several editorial positions, including editorial projects director and features editor, at domino magazine. She spearheaded special issues and packages that received National Magazine Award nominations from the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME), and was a contributor to Domino: The Book of Decorating, published by Simon & Schuster.

Ms. Altchek has also held editorial positions with I.D. and Art on Paper, and written on design, architecture and style for The New York Times, Veranda, Architectural Record and Martha Stewart Living.

Ms. Altchek graduated from Columbia University with a bachelor’s degree in Art History.

The not-unexpected news comes after the abrupt departure of Sally Singer at the end of the summer. 

Full press release below:

Press Release

The New York Times Names Deborah Needleman Editor of T Magazine

NEW YORK, September 27, 2012 – The New York Times announced today that Deborah Needleman has been named the new editor of T: The New York Times Style Magazine.  Ms. Needleman joins The Times from The Wall Street Journal where she currently serves as editor in chief of WSJ. Magazine.  Ms. Needleman also has editorial oversight of Off Duty, the Journal’s weekend lifestyle section, which she created and launched in September 2010.

In making the announcement, Jill Abramson, executive editor of The New York Times, said, “Deborah is a creative and innovative editor with an impeccable sense of style and design.  As we look to expand and extend T and continue to evolve it for our loyal and sophisticated New York Times audience, we will rely on Deborah’s broad range of experience and creative energy.  She is coming on board to strengthen the franchise and re-imagine its future on all platforms.  Given the depth of her talent and experience, I am certain that T is in very good hands.

T magazine is currently published 15 times a year and is dedicated to coverage of fashion, living, beauty, design and travel.

Ms. Needleman was the founding editor in chief of Condé Nast’s Domino magazine, which launched in 2005 and quickly became a leading guide to style and decorating with an incredibly devoted following.  It was one of the most honored magazines in its first year, including being named best new magazine by Adweek. Domino was closed in 2009 despite its critical success.

Previously, Ms. Needleman wrote on style, design and gardens for publications such as Slate and House & Garden.  She was editor at large for House & Garden for several years.  She began her career as the photography editor for The Washington Post.

Ms. Needleman is co-author of The Domino Book of Decorating and author of The Perfectly Imperfect Home.

A graduate of The George Washington University, she lives with her family in Manhattan.

2009: Francesco Vezzoli convinces Roman Polanski to direct Michelle Williams and Natalie Portman in an advertisement for the fictitious perfume "Greed," which plays at the Gagosian Gallery in Rome. Mr. Vezzoli: "I think my work is very political, because it deals with the perception of celebrity culture, which is something that we’re all involved with."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjpFLBbOpxg

2007: W publishes a portfolio of Richard Prince work on its "Art Issue" cover; the photographs depict popular celebrities with Prince-esque statements scrawled across them as autographs ("What me worry? -Lindsay Lohan.")

2004: Banksy produces a series of British banknotes replacing Queen Elizabeth II's image with Princess Diana's. Bloomberg News, 2007: the notes "tripled their top estimate at a Bonhams sale in London yesterday, as demand continued for works by the graffiti artist."

2004: Robert Wilson accepts a commission from U.S. television corporation Voom HD to produce "video portraits" of celebrities including Dita von Teese, Alan Cumming, and Brad Pitt. The portrait of an underwear-clad Mr. Pitt ends up on the cover of Vanity Fair in 2006 (shortly before the release of a documentary on Mr. Wilson), and Mr. Pitt is reportedly displeased at the use of his image.

1988: Michael Jackson and Bubbles sculpted by Jeff Koons. Broad Art Foundation catalog: "Here [Koons has] made an intentionally provocative monument to America’s hang-ups about class, race, gender and sexuality."

1987: Andy Warhol dies.

ddaddario@observer.com :: @DPD_

All has been quiet on the lifestyle mag front. Where Sulzberger and Murdoch trade nasty barbs and memos internally and at large, Singer and Needleman take turns delivering polite statements to WWD in some bond of sorority surely forged in the Conde Nast cafeteria. But that doesn't mean the magazines don't speak loud and clear about the papers' resources, talents, and goals. We're here to keep score.

SLIDESHOW: WSJ vs. T; Sunday Glossy Scorecard >>

He describes the deodorizing agent thusly: "It has a pleasant, showery smell. It’s not offensive and it’s not overpowering. It’s a light scent." It's a far cry from Burr's purple prose in T magazine, where he describes Hermès' latest women's perfume as "the milky scent of an infant's breath." We swoon. But this landfill man is on his way to great things, and great scents. We think the Times ought to get Mr. Burr and Mr. Fitamant acquainted as soon as possible, preferably by putting the critic on-assignment to determine the landfill's new top notes. The Gray Lady used to have a whole New Jersey section, after all.

And then the economy buckled. The Times' magazine empire got smaller, just as it did at newspapers across the country. Play, a sports magazine Mr. Marzorati started and treasured, was shuttered. T Magazine was scaled back. The size of the magazine was reduced, and some content, like "The Funny Pages," a much-debated Marzorati concept, had to go. 

And then, according to current and former staffers, the place began to devolve. The New York Times Magazine, once a plum assignment, felt like a different place to work. Morale dropped, and some big names began to leave. It became — within that shark tank that is The Times — one of the unhappier places to work at 620 Eighth Avenue.

While the economy can be blamed for affecting any magazine staff's morale over the past few years, several Times sources said that things at the magazine grew unusually tense, for two reasons. The first, they said, was that Mr. Marzorati seemed less engaged and less ambitious, and that had an effect on the staff and the magazine itself; second, they said a personnel decision he made-the appointment of a new deputy editor-created some animus that has yet to fade.

So, one month ago, when Bill Keller announced that Mr. Marzorati would leave the magazine for a new job at the Times Company, it seemed, in many ways, an inevitable outcome.

One can argue that no editor during these times could make the magazine any better than Mr. Marzorati did. Yet one thing seems clear: The new editor of the magazine, whom Mr. Keller told The Observer should be named by late August, will have work to do. 

ONE OF THE favorite parlor games in New York media is to debate whether The Times Magazine has lost its luster. It's over! It's dull! It's too dry! Why was yet another abortion story on the cover? Yet they still get the goods: stories by Dexter Filkins, long investigative pieces that few other magazines still invest in, and the ProPublica joint production that won both a National Magazine Award and a Pulitzer Prize.

The night after the Pulitzer announcements in early April, Bill Keller met with Gerry Marzorati for drinks at Colicchio & Sons on 10th Avenue. Mr. Marzorati said he always imagined staying on at the magazine through the 2012 election. But then Mr. Keller proposed an idea.

"He said, 'What have you got left to do here? You've done everything you are going to do here,'" Mr. Marzorati recalled in an interview describing the night, which eventually led to dinner with both of their wives. "And I said, I got it. There isn't going to be any new big thing I was going to do here and seven years is a long time, and it's like twice as long as my predecessor. It's longer than most people have to edit a magazine, so I said, 'Yeah, O.K., you're right, let's do this now.'"

The new job they were discussing was what Mr. Marzorati described as making the Great Wall between editorial and business "less rigid or more permeable." He said he doesn't mind if you call him a businessman now. 

"We're going to expand the local pages that we are doing in San Francisco and Chicago into Los Angeles. So should we cover Los Angeles like we're covering San Francisco, and cover it like a local story?" he said, explaining hypothetical situations in his new job. "Or should we be making a play to cover Los Angeles in the way we cover Washington, as a company town?"

Should DealBook, the Andrew Ross Sorkin-created franchise, expand to Washington and Los Angeles?

When looking back at his tenure, Mr. Marzorati twice made the point that he served longer than his predecessor. Yet Adam Moss, the current editor of New York magazine, had a celebrated tenure at The Times Magazine and also had a markedly different style than Mr. Marzorati's. He was hands-on and wanted to be involved with every decision. There were lots of meetings, and lots of conversations about nearly every page. Mr. Marzorati, who was Mr. Moss' deputy, has had a different style: He likes to delegate power and puts a lot of trust and authority in his deputies and story editors.

"I think Gerry is a very democratic person," said Stefano Tonchi, the former editor of T Magazine, who took over Condé Nast's W Magazine earlier this year.

When all the magazines at The Times were doing well, staffers saw Mr. Marzorati's approach as a blessing. But by the time budgets started to dwindle, his style was reinterpreted. "When there's a hands-off approach, when things are going well, everyone's happy," said one former staffer, "and when things aren't going well, it feels like no one cares."

During the difficult time, some staffers said, Mr. Marzorati seemed to lose some of his energy. "I think I and others felt that Gerry was less ambitious and less engaged in those last couple years," said a former staffer.

"I don't even know if he changed, or the situation changed, but that enthusiasm that he had for contemporary culture and art and design and fashion and music somehow was still a part of his life, but not in his magazine," said Mr. Tonchi.

"I think what changed at the magazine over the last three to four years was Gerry's engagement with the magazine," said Lynn Hirschberg, a former editor-at-large for the magazine who followed Mr. Tonchi and became an editor-at-large at W. "Part of the reason why it was so frustrating is because I respect Gerry, and Gerry changed."

"Morale deteriorated pretty far down," said yet another former staffer, who added that the magazine had lost the "dynamism" of the past few years.  

And then several big names began to leave. Mr. Tonchi and Ms. Hirschberg both decamped to W (Mr. Tonchi was replaced by Sally Singer from Vogue, seen by many as a coup for The Times); Paul Tough, a popular story editor, took a buyout last December; Kira Pollack, a deputy photo editor, took a new job to become the director of photography at Time; and Matt Bai moved from the magazine to the newspaper.

New job opportunities are new job opportunities, but the soured environment at the magazine contributed to the departures, sources said.

Mr. Marzorati takes issue with the distracted-editor theory. "As to my energy level, I think there are people who feel I've been distracted by masthead stuff and by my interest in the Web and stuff like that," he said. "But, my God, I'm sure we've had more National Magazine (Award) nominations than some magazine companies had, so it's hard for me to believe that when I walk in, there's a bunch of really unhappy people who I'm working with. I just don't sense that, and I'm pretty sensitive to that kind of thing."

He explained that there is a "very large and sophisticated machinery for evaluation" at The Times, and if there were any problems with his management, "I think I would have known about that."

We asked Ms. Hirschberg why she left the magazine. 

"The whole thing makes me very sad," she said. "This isn't an easy topic. It makes me sad. I don't dislike or hate Gerry at all. I feel things went wrong somehow. I valued his influence and his editorial role in my life enormously and to have that erode was unfortunate for the magazine and the writers who worked for him. I loved The New York Times Magazine. I did. I think a lot of people felt that way. There's a lot of emotion attached to this situation. You give 15 years of your life to something and you try really hard to make it great, and you felt other people tried to engage in the same way. It's an endeavor we all felt passionately about."

MANY TIMES SOURCES said a big factor in some of the staff's lost enthusiasm stemmed from Mr. Marzorati's appointment of Megan Liberman as his deputy. A former editor at Us, she edited the front-of-the-book section at The Times Magazine under Mr. Moss and eventually became a story editor under Mr. Marzorati. In 2007, Mr. Marzorati named her the Web editor, and by 2008, she became (along with Alex Star) his deputy. She also became an extremely close confidante. The two of them were often seen together, and she was a very close ally, staffers said. (Ms. Liberman did not respond to a request for comment.) 

The magazine, as sources described, is a bookish place that doesn't feel much like the newspaper. There are lots of meetings about ideas, and editors tend to do lots of listening. The story editors are people who are usually in mid-career, are pretty well established within the industry and have plenty of side projects, whether writing books or raising a family. They are secure.

Several staffers described Ms. Liberman as a different type entirely, someone who is outspoken and ambitious. While her personality could easily have thrived at any number of magazines, it cut the wrong way at The Times Magazine. Several people familiar with Ms. Liberman who spoke to The Observer said she "cuts people off" in conversation (not the culture of the place!). The word "abrasive" was used to describe her several times. She clearly is not a resoundingly popular colleague.

"You have a smart group of editors, and when you treat them like idiots, it can read as a loss in morale," said one frustrated current staffer of Ms. Liberman.

Mr. Marzorati strongly defended his deputy. "Megan is a phenomenal, phenomenal editor," he said. "She has done everything I have asked of her and the magazine has asked of her in an exemplary way."

He said any problems with her can be traced to the fact that she is a woman and that there is "professional jealousy."

"I promoted a young woman, a really smart woman and an ambitious woman, and ambitious women make people uncomfortable," he said.

He recommended that we reach out to Mark Leibovich and Peter Baker, both Washington-based Times reporters who have been writing for the magazine for the past few years. Both gave Ms. Liberman credit for smoothing that transition. 

"I'm a career newspaper writer, with long-form experience but no real magazine background until I arrived at the NYT in 2006," said Mr. Leibovich, in an email. "Megan — more than anyone — taught me the mag craft."

"My point is there isn't a thing that she has done that hasn't been extraordinary," said Mr. Marzorati. "As for her being difficult, I don't see it. I'm a person who is very sensitive to the office culture, and I think I've built and helped maintain an office culture that is incredibly friendly and horizontal and not hierarchal.

"In the end, it's not a participatory democracy," he said. "I'm the editor. I don't really give a damn what people think about whether they didn't like Megan or not. I would hope they would. I promoted her to do a job and she did extremely well."

GERRY MARZORATI DOES not feel he was pushed out of his job. He felt that Mr. Keller was nothing but sincere.

"I don't think he has any complaints about the magazine, and he said, 'I could read a magazine you're editing as long as you wanted to edit it,'" he said. "I don't know if that's true or not, or that's something you say to somebody when you want them to do something else, but I didn't feel shoved out, to be honest."

Mr. Keller said in an email that "Gerry's edited the magazine for about seven years — and before that was Adam's sidekick. He'll tell you that's longer than any other job he's held, and quite a long tenure for a newspaper magazine. It's a good time to push the refresh button."

When we asked about the staff morale, Mr. Keller only wrote, sarcastically, "Of course I'm shocked, shocked to learn that any sector of the newsroom is not governed by pure, blissful harmony."

But Mr. Marzorati is proud of his legacy at the magazine. We asked him what he thought that was, and he took a day to reflect before emailing back.

"I can look at this magazine, where I have worked since 1994, and see that, for better or for worse, a lot of it came out of my head: from front (getting D Solomon to do the Questions For) to back (extending the length of our cover stories)," he wrote in an email after considering the question of his legacy. "Finally, I am most proud of our commitment to long-form narrative journalism in general, which has been recognized by those who matter most to me, our readers, who — despite the conventional wisdom — immerse themselves in these pieces not only in print but on the Web, where they typically get a million or so page views each week."

As for the next editor of the magazine, Bill Keller said he has asked potential candidates to write up a memo on what they'd like to do with it, and that they should get the memo to him by the end of July. "I've told people I'd like to have a successor by the end of August," he said. 

jkoblin@observer.com

One source told The Observer that The Times was able to convince Ms. Singer to leave Vogue by giving her the power to fire people, an unusual practice at the Times, which almost never relieves staffers unless there is a very significant reason.

Bill Keller told The News that "Having appointed a new chief editor, it's only natural that we would be assembling a team — some T veterans, some new recruits — to work alongside her." But it is not common practice at the paper and magazine to let staffers leave the building without finding a new job first.

Watch for Ms. Singer to make plenty of moves over the next few weeks and months ahead.

Sally Singer, the features and fashion news editor at Vogue, the ear to Anna Wintour and regarded as one of the biggest talents in fashion publishing, is the new editor of T Magazine.

Ever since Stefano Tonchi left T for W, the search has been a long one, and it was expected the hire would come from within. It's a hugely significiant hire, and one has to believe that The Times wants to put WSJ. and The Journal's forthcoming weekend lifestyle revamp to shame.

Mr. Murdoch, here's the memo:

SALLY SINGER IS SELECTED EDITOR OF T MAGAZINE
 
NEW YORK, June 8, 2010 - Sally Singer has been selected as the new editor of T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Bill Keller, executive editor of The New York Times, announced today. Since its debut in 2003, T has been at the forefront of luxury magazines, exploring the worlds of fashion, beauty, design, living and travel.  Ms. Singer will take over the helm on July 5.
 
"Sally has the combination of aesthetic sense and intellectual curiosity suited to a style magazine that wears the name of The New York Times," said Mr. Keller. "We were looking for someone with the imagination and taste to envision the next generation of this extraordinary franchise, and the experience to make it happen."
 
Ms. Singer has been at Vogue since 1999, where she oversaw the fashion news and features departments.  Earlier she was fashion director at New York Magazine, style director of Elle, and the commissioning editor for features at British Vogue.
 
She has edited at the London Review of Books, Verso/New Left Review, and Farrar Straus and Giroux. She has also written for the Atlantic Monthly, the Economist, the Guardian and the Times Literary Supplement, among other publications.
 
One of the style world's most successful magazine launches, T is now published 15 times a year.  It translates style in a way that is beautiful, insightful and relevant and features the work of some of the world's most illustrious photographers, including Robert Maxwell, Raymond Meier and Jean Baptiste-Mondino.
 
T has an audience that is as sophisticated as its content. It offers advertisers a lush, brand-appropriate luxury editorial environment with readers who are world travelers, discriminating shoppers and design aficionados.  Its global presence has expanded as it has become a leading online style destination and is now distributed in the International Herald Tribune in Europe and the Middle East.
 
The T Web site is updated daily and offers original Web-only content, including news and views by some of the most trusted voices in the industry, as well as exclusive videos like the popular "Screen Test" series of celebrity interviews and "The Moment" blog on NYTimes.com/TMagazine.