Lads’ mag pioneer James Brown leaves Four Four Two after six months as editor

Four Four Two editor-in-chief James Brown has left the football magazine after less than six months, having returned to editing for the role.

Brown, widely considered a key player of the “lads’ mag” era, joined the monthly Future Publishing title on 11 March.

He spoke to Press Gazette about his plans for digital growth and moving on from Four Four Two’s “old fashioned tendency” to focus on print after his first month in the editor’s chair.

Brown said he had not planned on returning to magazines and was in self-imposed retirement when he saw the role advertised and was enticed to return, saying it seemed like the “perfect job”.

He has now quietly left the company and Future began advertising for a replacement today.

Brown began his career at NME before launching Loaded in 1994. He went on to edit GQ for two years and then launched now-defunct men’s magazine Jack, which closed in 2004.

In the past decade he has acted as a media consultant to brands including the Mail on Sunday, helped to launch The New European newspaper, and runs creative agency Sabotage.

Four Four Two is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and marked its 300th issue in May.

Brown and Future did not respond to requests for comment.

Topics in this article : Future PLC