Back in j-school, while we were studying how to game the magazine industry well enough to land a job in it — a funny thing happened on the way down that path, and it's called Jossip — we were told all about the "Seven Sisters" of magazines. These were the grand mamas (and not grandmothers) of the magazine publishing world, and included the names Redbook, Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle, Good Housekeeping, McCall's (rebranded as Rosie, and then killed off), Women's Day, and the other huge circ title, Ladies' Home Journal. If you look at the marketplace now, however, you've seen the enormous readerships of these magazines decline (to still quite substantial levels) while titles like O, The Oprah Magazine, Domino, and Real Simple have moved in to take their place.

The exit of LHJ editor Diane Salvatore is, supposedly, a way to shake things up and stave off the slide in ad pages under a new regime. But Salvatore is being replaced with Parents EIC Sally Lee, who, while certainly deserving of compliments for her tenure in the industry, does not represent a sea change in leadership. Meredith Corp. is actually upping Lee to SVP/New York editorial director, giving her oversight not only of LHJ, but also Family Circle, Fitness, Ser Padres and American Baby.

And that's the problem.

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PRAY FOR SKINNY When it comes to diets and weight loss, women's magazines aimed at black women recommend fad diets and faith – one in 10 articles looked to God – while titles for white folks (sorry, "the mainstream") emphasize smaller portions and lower-fat foods. We recommend Nip/Tuck. [SH]

What to do when you're 125 years old and newborns are stealing your audience? Revamp! That's what Meredith Corp. is doing with Ladies' Home Journal, just as it did with Better Homes and Gardens, with "new typefaces, more photos and illustrations along with new columns including Medical Mystery and a takeoff on one of the magazine’s trademark fixtures, 'Can This Marriage Be Saved?' only in the food department. 'Can this Recipe be Saved?' will offer readers healthy makeovers of favorite family recipes."

Middle aged ladies on the cover? Nope, not getting rid of 'em.

Two years ago, we wondered what the Jolie In NYC blogger would do after she was outed as Ladies Home Journal beauty editor Nadine Haobsh. We predicted a book deal, especially since her anon-blog all but guaranteed she would never get another job at a woman’s magazine.

Well, we must have publishing ESP, because Haobsh is back with a book, Beauty Confidential. And last night we had a dream about being too tired to work today, and now we are completely exhausted. Seriously, this is getting creepy.

If you want to feel guilty about putting your money toward food and rent instead of your appearance, then this is the book for you. One “beauty myth” to dispel yourself of: “A $25 cut looks the same as a $250 cut.” Was that even a myth?

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Witnessing Nadine Haobsh's anon-a-blogger story blossom into two jobs lost and professional representation surprised us as much as the next media industry failure, but only because the tale began at Ladies' Home Journal, which defines "staid" in the publishing biz when Good Housekeeping takes the day off.

But, writes in a reader, does anybody actually know what's going on inside LHJ? We sure didn't, and neither does our mother even.

Has anyone in New York actually bothered to read Ladies Home Journal recently???

I hadn't until the other day. I saw that Kaballah queen Madonna had been on the cover a while back, but I just assumed that's about as religious as any major magazine got these days.

In the July issue it features the God-spewing best-selling author Rick Warren and his article "3 Ways to Lift Your Spirits."

Thankfully this concerned glossy page fanatic skimmed the pages for us. From Warren's piece:

Many of us overlook the need for rest — not for our bodies but for our souls, which is a much deeper kind of relaxation. Spiritual fatigue is the result of trying to live without God. The symptoms are obvious: worry, fear, resentment, and guilt. Neither sleep, nor working out, nor a day off from work will rid you of these draining emotions. Such fatigue requires a spiritual recharging. The Bible says, "He energizes those who get tired." Only God can restore your soul.

Though to be honest, the only spiritual advice we amass from the publishing industry that we take seriously comes from Seventeen.

Our poor Jolie in NYC. Not only was Nadine Haobsh's foolish decision to anon-a-blog about her cushy gig as Ladies' Home Journal's associate beauty editor exposed, but now she's out of a job. No, wait, two jobs.

Her bosses (ahem, Diane Salvatore) weren't too pleased with Nadine, but that was fine, since Atoosa Rubenstein had already offered her a beauty editor gig at Seventeen. Well, until yesterday's story broke, and now the mag has "rescinded" their offer, leaving the the 24-year-old with a hard-to-pronounce last name and no paycheck.

Meanwhile, Nadine is speaking out on the matter — even though she did speak to the New York Post for its article .. you know, to get her side of the story out there. She'd like you to know she wasn't fired from LHJ but that she had already given notice that she was leaving for Rubenstein's camp.

So where is Nadine headed in the future? She wants to write a book that's "the book equivalent of a Kate Hudson movie."

After all that bitching about how superficial her job was .. now that's something to aspire to.