Atoosa resigns from Seventeen Magazine
Atoosa's Readers Speak!
And so does Cathie Black
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
(NEW YORK) Though Atoosa Rubenstein’s resignation from Seventeen Magazine Tuesday came as a surprise to many in fashion and media circles, perhaps no group was more caught off guard than her magazine’s own readers.
That’s because Rubenstein, on Monday, was one of 70 guest speakers at Columbia University’s 67th-annual Scholastic Press Association fall conference, where high school students and faculty members alike filled every seat of the school’s Lerner Cinema awaiting her arrival. Rubenstein had been asked to speak because, as the youngest editor at the Hearst Corporation when she launched CosmoGIRL!, she was seen as an ideal fit for the demographic.
Rubenstein resigned to launch her own teen-centered web business, as well as write a book and start a consulting firm specializing in the youth market. Her seminar, entitled “Get to the Top,” saw Rubenstein walking down the memory lane of her experiences, not just as an eager editor but as what she described as a “bona fide dork” in high school. Throughout her speech, she encouraged students to follow their dreams, and insisted that although she was always working, she loved her position, stressing the importance of perseverance, stamina, and passion. “So it came as a great shock to many of those students today, when Rubenstein declared her resignation at Seventeen,” said Jennifer Pelly, a freelance writer from Long Island, who was one of dozens in attendance.
During her speech, deemed humorous by many in attendance, Rubenstein stated frankly that she slacked off in school and admitted that she is now making little use of her political science degree from Barnard College. Rubenstein described magazines as "her savior" as a teenager, according to Pelly. “When a student in the audience asked her how many hours a week she currently works, she responded by happily stating that she is always working,” she said.
When reached for comment, a Hearst spokeswoman issued the following statement: “After 12 years at Hearst, seven of which were spent editing two important magazines, CosmoGIRL! and Seventeen, Atoosa Rubenstein has decided to step out into the entrepreneurial world and realize her dream of starting her own company and becoming the voice of empowerment to a generation of teens.”
Cathie Black, president of Hearst Magazines, commented, “From the first time I met Atoosa, I knew this was a young woman with a tremendous creative energy and she has proven that over and over, both in creating CosmoGIRL! and then taking on the editorship of Seventeen after Hearst acquired it in 2003. At both titles, she created strong teams, and during her time at Seventeen, she increased newsstand sales, launched the reality show Miss Seventeen on MTV, and created her own website and a presence for Seventeen on MySpace, among other key partnerships, strengthening Seventeen’s leadership in the teen category. We expect to have an ongoing relationship with Atoosa in her future endeavors. We think the world of her and wish her only the best.”
Hearst has been interviewing for several weeks and will name a successor shortly.
JIM SHI
Source:
The fashion Daily
If this has been posted already..please delete!
She did a good job IMO!
Now I have a slight dislike of Atoosa. 
