Former Chat and Woman’s Own editor Terry Tavner has been appointed editor of She.
The move signals a comeback for Tavner who worked on She for five years in the mid-Eighties.
Having joined the women’s glossy as deputy chief sub, she worked her way up to become chief sub and then assistant editor, before leaving in 1989 to take up her first editorship at Chat.
She told Press Gazette the offer from The National Magazine Company was “too good to ignore”. “I’ve always had a huge affinity with the magazine. The only reason I left was to take up my first editorship and I’ve got very fond and happy memories,” she added.
Tavner said it was too early to talk about a redesign but features will be high on the agenda when she takes over in November. “Features is where I’ll be focusing my attention. I don’t want to criticise anything because She has just had a fantastic ABC. “I want to keep all its strengths and capitalise on them,” she added.
She has suffered competition from the women’s market, including the BBC’s glossy Eve. In the past three years sales have sunk below the 200,000 barrier, although the latest ABCs showed an improvement with a 2.2 per cent rise to 185,558.
Tavner has recently been working as a freelance consultant on various projects including some for the BBC.
By Ruth Addicott
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