On the heels of what has to be the equivalent of celebrity tabloid's Christmas in November (TomKat wedding, O.J. book scandal and Michael Richards' meltdown et al) Bauer Publishing's Life & Style has made a switch at the top of its Englewood, New Jersey, compound, replacing editor Debra Birnbaum, who had been with the magazine less than a year, with general manager Mark Pasetsky.

Insiders say that Birnbaum's strengths and background were not suited to the magazine's push for "deeper style coverage."

"She was not as interested" in style as she was in celebrity, says an inside source. "The missions collided."