Magazines: Looking for a Solution

The special meeting of Curtis Publishing Co.'s 15-man board had been called to find a tidy solution to a very untidy corporate problem: the revolt against President and Board Chairman Matthew J. Culligan (TIME, Oct. 16), who had been accused of mismanagement by a 17-man crew led by Editor in Chief Clay Blair Jr. and Marvin D. Kantor, head of the magazine division. But last week's action by the board added up to something less than a final solution.

Out as president and chief executive officer, stepped Joe Culligan-although he was allowed to stay on as board chairman. Installed as a new Curtis executive vice president was Raymond DePue McGranahan, 50, onetime president of the Wilshire Oil Co. in Los Angeles and, until his resignation last summer, a vice president of the Times-Mirror Co., whose properties include the Los Angeles Times.

Kantor and Blair, who were suspended from duty after the rebellion came to light, remained in limbo. Also suspended "for the good of the company" were Norman Ritter, assistant managing editor of the Saturday Evening Post, and Thomas R. Marvel, the magazine's production chief. The other dissident executives remained on their jobs. No one took Culligan's place as president; that breach was temporarily filled by Executive Vice President John McLean Clifford, a Culligan appointee. Boston Financier Serge Semenenko, who put together last year's consortium of banks that lent Curtis $35 million, continued to insist he had made a good investment. Curtis, said Semenenko, "can be restored to health."

In Los Angeles, Curtis's new director, Raymond McGranahan, asked a favor of newsmen. "Please don't call me a troubleshooter," he said. "That has a bad connotation, and also troubleshooters are expendable. I'm in the position to help Curtis with their problems. They have more problems than it's fair for anyone to have at one time."