Dykzeul will remain as ACP’s chief executive and will publish the flagship titles Woman’s Day, Australian Women’s Weekly, and Lucky Break

Another key change to the business is the promotion of current general manager of sales Paul Gardiner to the position of commercial director. He will work closely with Dykzeul on generating new revenue streams and growth opportunities, including the development ACP’s online strategy, particularly through the iPad (like that seen for North & South) and by figuring out how best to use its 50 percent stake in MSN NZ.

As is usually the case when structural changes are announced, plenty of suggestions have been made that is part of an exit/succession plan by Dykzeul, a man one media cad described as “the Helen Clark of ACP” because, before these changes, he was across absolutely everything. As far as he knows, he’s not going anywhere. And while he wants to get involved in more charity work and perhaps pick up a directorship of two in the coming years, the 57 year old says he’s still as hyperactive as ever and has plenty of life left in him yet (he also jokingly says he’s deeply offended to be described as Helen Clark, just as she probably is to be connected to him).

“I really enjoy being back in New Zealand. I think every publisher in the country has almost gone through the perfect storm in the past few years, but we’re in a very strong position as a company,” he says (figures show ACP’s combined titles increased by more than 80,000 new readers compared to the previous year).

If anything, the structual changes simply free Dykzeul up to focus more on the future, rather than the present; the holistic, rather than the day to day. He says he was receiving 29 direct reports and, while it was always his intention to “put his fingerprints all over the business” when he arrived three years ago, he says some areas inevitably received more attention than others, so it’s time they got some love too.

Traditionally, publishers have come from the editorial side of the business. But he says Lyon and Ralph’s appointments reflect a modern way to drive commercial operations and also reflect the structural model used in Australia and particularly the UK.

“This new structure leaves good space around the editors to run their own titles. And now they are better able to receive and take advantage of business, market and consumer insights provided by their publishers,” he says.

Despite looking outside the building for the appropriate people to fill these roles, he says he was pleased to learn that his existing staff were the best candidates and believes the new positions offer those within the company more opportunity to advance their careers.

It seems unlikely the structural changes will affect sales too much, however, because ACP has the scale to sell across these groups as it is (ACP magazines reach 2.9 million New Zealanders every year with three in every four female magazine readers choosing one of its titles).

The restructure, which Dykzeul says he has been playing around with for six to nine months, is supported by increased investment in an expanded research and insights team with several new internal appointments.

In a press release issued by ACP Media Limited, chief executive Paul Dykzeul refutes claims that the vehicle spotted by Mau belongs to any staff member or associates of the magazine.

“Whoever has been watching Ali for over a month has nothing to do with our magazine company,” says Dykzeul. “The photographs that appear in this week’s edition of the magazine were taken over a 24 hour period and Ali’s children were not present at any time. We know there are boundaries when researching stories and we would never intentionally step over them.”

While she remains quiet about the revelations of her alleged relationship with another woman, Mau yesterday made quite some noise on the show, as she held up a copy of the magazine (as well as a copy of New Idea) and some of the photos in question.

“…a Woman’s Day paparazzi photographer has been stalking me, my children and my friends for a month now…”, said Mau, as she offered some nice objective reporting on ‘What’s in the women’s mags’.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“We went through the right channels and presumed this was cleared. We have strict processes for use of photos.”

L&L was pilloried by ACP’s Paul Dykzeul for running the same image on this month’s L&L as was on the February 2008 cover of KiaOra, Air New Zealand’s magazine, produced under contract by ACP.

Ms Hetet, who sourced the image in question from Photo New Zealand, is on holiday in Germany for a month.

Director of Photo NZ, Rob Lile, is keeping mum, after he posted two heated comments on StopPress. Lile holds up his company’s reputation, also saying it follows “strict” procedures. Lile says an investigation is taking place between Photo NZ and Fairfax, but until Hetet gets back from her European break, the discussion is officially out of the public arena.

Coughlan remains unruffled but perhaps slightly regretful that “it was the first time ever we had not done our own cover.”

L&L chose the shot by Becky Nunes because it encapsulated the feeling and colours they wanted to portray on their cover. Nunes is a regular contributor to the magazine in any case. To commission another photographer to create a similar shot was not compatible with budget and time restraints. And even though Coughlan sees every issue of KiaOra, the penny didn’t drop.

Coughlan is more intrigued about the reproduction of the image. “When you put it on 300gsm quality – you’ve got something,” she says, referring to KiaOra’s thinner cover stock. And no, it wasn’t manipulated (as ACP’s Dykzeul suggested). “My readers are the only ones that matter and they will react to the image as part of L&L. It is an entirely appropriate image for us.”

She agrees there needs to be more controls in the industry on the “provenance of photos and the use of them”.

If Hetet runs into the Black Forest, we don’t blame her. Our post on the cover confusion induced a tidal wave of comments – some hilarious and some outright catty.

As magazine publishers ourselves we feel Fairfax’s pain. Lord knows it can happen to the best of us – and Kate is the best, for sure.

It’s the sound all magazine publishers dread: the smug tap of ACP’s Paul Dykzeul’s keyboard as he relishes the moment to rub your nose in the sand. Ouch!

Says Dykzeul: “ACP Magazines are proud to have provided the latest cover for NZ Life and Leisure, produced by their close friends at Fairfax Magazines, who have used a Photo NZ image for their latest issue September/October 09 issue.

“The same image was used on the cover of ACP’s KiaOra, the Air New Zealand in-flight magazine, in February 2008.”

Latest developments here.