Things Not Rosy at Rosie Magazine

By Stephen M. Silverman

07/23/2002 at 01:15 PM EDT

Tempers have been flaring inside the corridors of Rosie magazine, according to news reports, with The New York Times noting that Rosie O'Donnell is considering legal action against the publisher of the enterprise, Gruner & Jahr USA. At issue is the editorial direction that the year-old publication is taking as well as who is in charge of the title, say the reports. "There are creative differences, which they are trying to work on and hopefully resolve," O'Donnell's rep, Cindi Berger, told The Times. A spokesman for the publishing company confirmed to The Times that G&J had disagreements with O'Donnell, 40, over personnel and editorial issues. When Rosie was launched in May 2001, it basically swallowed up the 125-year-old women's magazine McCall's. The New York Post reports that, according to early estimates, Rosie magazine is currently selling fewer copies than the old McCall's, which used to average monthly sales of 350,000-400,000 issues. Though O'Donnell quit her syndicated talk show in May (to devote more time to her family, she said), and despite the problems at the magazine, Berger stressed that O'Donnell intends to keep her namesake publication going.