News breaks today that Martha Stewart Living chief Susan Lyne is stepping down from the company. Looking at the company's share price during her tenure, which has dropped by more than half, one might assume that her departure isn't a voluntary one. But quite possibly, it was, or at least an amicable decision. That's because Lyne has been rumored to be a possible successor to Time Inc. chief Ann More, whose contract expires in 2010. (Lyne's deal at MSL, where she earned $4.4m last year, expired on Dec. 31, but included a one-year auto-renewal clause if the company didn't notify her that they didn't want to re-up her.) Not only did Lyne keep Stewart's company afloat when its namesake founder headed to prison, but her experience as president of ABC Entertainment, and editor the Village Voice and Premiere, are the type of cross-platform expertise Time Inc. so desperately needs.