Us Weekly editor Min leaving after 7 years

NEW YORK, July 21 (UPI) -- Us Weekly editor Janice Min is leaving the U.S. celebrity gossip magazine after seven years, in an amicable parting, the publication said.

"I decided it was time to try something else in my life," Min said in a memo to the staff Monday.

"There are no immediate plans, except to enjoy the month of August, take some tennis lessons, and maybe finally edit my wedding album," she said.

The New York Times said Min, 39, talked about online ventures and television as fields that would appeal to her. Executive Editor Michael Steele will become acting editor in chief, said Jann Wenner, chairman and chief executive officer of Wenner Media LLC, which owns Us magazine.

"We're not going to make any fundamental changes," said Wenner, whose company also owns Rolling Stone and Men's Journal.

Wenner bought Us in 1986, when it was 9 years old, and increased its frequency to weekly from monthly in 2000. He also shifted its content to celebrity-focused news from industry news and reviews.

The move put Us -- started by New York Times Co. as a bi-monthly in 1977 -- in more direct competition with People and Entertainment Weekly, both published by Time Inc.

In 2002, Wenner hired Bonnie Fuller as editor in chief, and she hired Min as her second in command. Min took the top job when Fuller left the next year.