Dr. Oz, doctor to millions of Americans who believe anything someone famous says, is closer to launching that magazine we first heard about in January. The New York Post reports that Oz and Hearst are in the “final stages,” and if the debut goes as planned, it will be gigantic.

Expected to launch at the end of the year, Oz’s magazine is backed by some big Hearst guns. Jeff Hamill, the publishing house’s executive VP of sales, is chatting up media buyers, and Ellen Levine, Hearst’s editorial director, is overseeing content. Oz’s glossy will also come packing a robust 800,000 rate base, with an expected 350,000 from newsstand sales.

That’s impressive. Almost as impressive as building a career of off flimsy medical advice. Almost.

Troy Young, who was just named president of Hearst Magazines Digital Media, a new role at Hearst, is a fan of native advertising. In an interview with Ad Age, he said that every publisher was going to have to incorporate native ads in the future, and the main obstacle is making them appealing to readers:

There’s a lot to come on the native side, and I’m glad the market is rallying around the idea, but really it’s a natural evolution of doing a couple of things: Making the advertising fit more elegantly in the content experience, and making it more interesting and removing the friction from consuming it, which was always the problem with legacy advertising experience.

Now it’s about putting something back in for the user. Give them value or you’re dead. It’s a natural evolution. I think it’s all good and every publishing company is going to have to deal with it.

We’ve never read a native ad or a sponsored post. We honestly can’t see a time when we will. However, publishers have to make money, so they might as well try to make them interesting. To quote Seinfeld, good luck with all that.

Check out the full interview with Young here.

Troy Young has been named president of Hearst Magazines Digital Media, a new role at the company. At Hearst, Young will be responsible for all Hearst Magazines online brands. For those digital properties, he’ll be tasked with increasing revenue and developing strategies and content. Young comes to the company from Say Media, where he served as president.

“Pure-play digital companies and agencies move at warp speed, and Troy has been an integral part of that landscape since its inception,” said Hearst Magazines president, David Carey. “He’s incredibly strategic and will bring the pulse of a startup to our world-class brands, focusing on content quality, velocity and accessibility on all platforms, as well as developing our video storytelling and creating new revenue streams.”

Young’s appointment is effective May 13.

[Image: Flickr/Say Media]

It’s 2013, and David Carey, president of Hearst Magazines, is excited. In a memo to staffers, Carey lays out the plan for the company in the coming new year, and highlights some things that have gone right.

The memo is massive, so we pulled some notable items out. After the highlights you can read Carey’s entire letter.

• Hearst Magazines now has an impressive 800,000 monthly digital subscribers
• Esquire is going to announce a “bold new partnership” that “will dramatically expand the Esquire franchise”
• HGTV Magazine continues to be a hit, and will get bumped up to 10 issues per year
• International business grew by 50 percent in 2012
• Cosmopolitan for Latinas, Delish and ELLE Accessories are all upping their publishing frequency this year, though no specifics were given
• Hearst Magazines International is planning an additional 12 launches this coming year

Hearst Magazines is combing the editorial structure of Elle Decor, House Beautiful and Veranda and putting them all under the wing of Newell Turner. Turner is now the editor-in-chief of the newly created Hearst Design Group, which includes the three titles and their digital counterparts. Turner had been editor of House Beautiful since 2010.

Michael Boodro and Dara Caponigro will remain editors-in-chief of Elle Decor and Veranda, respectively, but the Design Group will share market and copy editors between them all.

David Carey, CEO of Hearst, praised the restructuring as a “fresh new approach,” while Turner added that by launching the Design Group, Hearst is “really changing how branded content is created.”

Christine Rannazzisi-Gerstein has been named appointed associate publisher, group marketing director, for Country Living, Good Housekeeping and Woman’s Day. Rannazzisi-Gerstein was already overseeing both Good Housekeeping and Country Living, serving as associate publisher, marketing, of both brands (Good Housekeeping since 2011, Country Living since 2005).

“Christine understands the needs of both our marketing partners and our readers,” said Patricia Haegele, senior vice president group publisher and chief revenue officer of all three brands. “In this expanded role, she’ll tap into the individual power of each brand, as well as find the places where they can intersect to create programs that maximize our relationships in both worlds.”

“I’m thrilled to be a part of these storied brands. Each has a distinct point of view and unique way of delivering smart ideas and information for modern women,” added Rannazzisi-Gerstein, in a statement.

Jeffrey Hamill has been promoted to executive vice president, sales and marketing at Hearst Integrated Media (HIM). Hamill was most recently senior vice president, advertising sales and marketing for Hearst Magazines. He had held that position since 1988.

“Jeff has been an incredible asset to Hearst for nearly 30 years and instrumental in helping us drive advertising revenue on the print and digital front from our largest clients,” said Michael Clinton, HIM’s president of marketing and publishing director. “He has a stellar reputation both inside and outside the company and promotion to EVP is well-deserved.”

Hamill’s appointment is effective immediately. He reports to Clinton.

Hearst Magazines has named Mark Gompertz creative director, content extensions. Gompertz was most recently a consultant/project manager and producer for enhanced eBooks, where he worked with corporations and private clients. Prior to that Gompertz was with Simon & Schuster for 17 years.

“Mark has deep experience in the areas of e-publishing, multimedia experimentation and finding new revenue streams for great content — all of which translate remarkably well to content extension opportunities for our brands at Hearst,” said John Loughlin, executive vice president and general manager of Hearst Magazines. “We have a number of exciting projects in the works and I’m confident that Mark will not only execute on those brilliantly but also bring an abundance of new ideas to the table.”

[Image via The New York Times]

Kimberly Lau, a veteran of Hearst, is joining The Atlantic as Vice President and General Manager of Atlantic Digital, a new role at the company. Lau had been with Hearst Magazines since 2006, most recently working as Vice President of Business Development.

At The Atlantic, Lau will work with both its editorial and sales teams. She will actively seek out brand expansion opportunities, form new business partnerships, help guide mobile and video product development and explore syndication platforms.

“We are incredibly lucky to have a talented digital native like Kim join the award-winning Atlantic Digital team. Kim has been a rising star at Hearst and we’re eager to bring her strategic thinking and entrepreneurial spirit down to Atlantic Media,” said M. Scott Havens, Senior Vice President of Finance and Digital Operations.

Lau begins on June 15.

Felix DiFilippo has been named Publisher and Chief Revenue Officer of Car and Driver and Road & Track. DiFilippo comes to Hearst Magazines from The Atlantic Media Company, where he most recently served as Associate Publisher. He had been with Atlantic Media since 2008.

DiFilippo succeeds Robert Houghtlin III, who is now Executive Director of Automotive Sales for Hearst Men’s Group. Houghtlin will be responsible for automotive advertising for the Car and Driver, Road & Track and Popular Mechanics brands.

“Felix will be instrumental in taking these highly respected brands to the next level of growth, building on the foundation that Rob and the team created,” said Jack Essig, Senior Vice President, Publishing Director and Chief Revenue Officer for Hearst Men’s Group. “We see great potential in these titles, and we’re excited to further develop them a full 360 degrees.”

DiFilippo will begin at Hearst on March 26.