FishbowlLA has been alerted to some scandalous news involving Star magazine. Only in this case, the details relate to the publication’s editorial staff.

According to our source, more than a half-dozen people at Star’s New York offices are being let go today, including some very senior employees. It’s reportedly part of an amalgamation of Star and OK! editorial operations; the resulting unit will be responsible for both magazines.

We are in the process of trying to get official confirmation of the people involved. There may also be some separate National Enquirer personnel moves in the offing. In April, American Media, Inc. announced the promotion of Richard Spencer to the position of editorial director of its Celebrity Magazine Group, which consists of Star, OK! and Reality Weekly.

More to come…

Simon Cowell thinks it’s a great idea. But then again, The X Factor purveyor has a vested interest in the concept of a new weekly U.S. magazine devoted to reality TV shows and their stars.

According to a piece over the weekend in the New York Times by Jeremy W. Peters, the January launching mag will be priced at $1.79 and embrace that fact with the newsstand slogan “Less Money, More Fun!” Other concessions are also apparently being made:

The writing is big and blocky, and makes liberal use of exclamation points. “J. Lo’s Booty Scandal!” screams one headline on a prototype. “OMG! Seriously?” says another on an article about a contestant on The Bachelorette.

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