People magazine is working to reclaim its youth, says an insider with direct ties to the magazine. Not only is Larry Hackett's rag moving up the book's closing time – pulling it back 12 hours, so it will now close Tuesday evening, not Wednesday morning – but they've enlisted the help of a crop of veterans to shake things up. Because change always comes from industry stalwarts.

The shift was announced during a Friday staff meeting, and includes the import of helping hands Jane Nicholls, editor of Australia's Who tabloid (also a Time Inc. title), as well as People en Español chief Peter Castro, who spent 18 years at People proper; Star veteran and short-lived VH1 staffer David Caplan, who joined People in September, is also involved in the revamp. (It's unclear whether Nichols and Castro are just lending their services temporarily, or plan to stay on permanently. We're guessing the former.)

Not that all the changes to make the magazine "look younger" are sitting well with staffers: Longtime reporter Ashley Williams is said to have decamped for ESPN The Magazine, while, according to our source, "a lot of the younger people [on staff] are over it."

Out goes Rina Stone, in comes Peter Castro. (Sure, they held/hold different positions, but we've gotta make this sound dramatic.) The 18-year tabloid veteran returns to People after 15 months running People En Español, where he had to care more about the Latin Grammys than the regular Grammys. Which, let's face it, must've been tough. There, "his sense of fun, buzz and news were on ample display." Fun. And also: assistant managing editors Jess Cagle and Betsy Gleick are now exec editors. Sounds like it's getting heavy on top.

Larry Hackett's meeeemo, next.

CONTINUED »