
It took less than two months after taking the reigns of Women's Health for Dave Zinczenko, the Men's Health editor and new editorial director of Rodale's group, to get rid of the lady mag's founding editor Tina Johnson. She helped launch the spin-off and steer it toward its current standing, as a well-read and well-regarded book in its category, and Zinczenko's ousting her this week will surely disturb a few of Johnson's followers. No matter, it's likely going to follow with some other staff shake ups.
Officially, Johnson left the magazine voluntarily. But either way, her departure isn't the only revolution at the mag:
For the first time ever, Women's Health will begin featuring celebrities on the cover. October's issue will have W star Elizabeth Banks on the front.
Interestingly, Women's Health was one of the last titles making use of old guard publishing rules: leaning on models to move the magazine. Other general audience mags long ago turned exclusively to celebs.
Even fashion books, which for decades featured models on the cover as status quo, no longer let no-name models on their fronts. Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue is the only high-circ magazine really continuing the practice, and even that example deserves an asterisk.
Zinczenko's Men's Health has long made use of fit male celebs to sell the magazine, including Jason Statham and Matthew McConaughey. And it's been working: Men's Health remains strong, and Zinczenko is a publishing hero. (Women's Health's ad pages were up 18 percent through September, with circ up 45 percent to 1.14m and single copy sales up 11.5 percent to 307k.)
Which is why nobody will question his decision to start using celebs on Women's Health. We imagine Evangeline Lilly and Rosario Dawson will find their way on there. But at the same time, it's a little upsetting to see one more magazine cover give way to the famous, while fitness models, athletes, and trainers get pushed to the side.
Of course, no unfit woman would've ever been allowed on the cover of Women's Health; given the book's name, it, uh, wouldn't make any sense.
But at least readers got to see no-name "normal" women on the cover, giving them a slight hope they could one day look like that. Now, they're thinsperation will be, like every other magazine, celebrity ladies with endless resources to look amazing.

Women's Health is not only informative, unique, but relatable. Now it'll be like all the rest. There goes my subscription.
I'm all for Evangeline Lilly to be on the cover along with Rosario Dawson.
Both talented and respected actresses; but please don't turn this into another celebrity fluff magazine.
Let the celebrity appearances be an on and off again thing.