Nelson rises to editor-in-chief at Time Inc.

As expected, Martha Nelson has become the first female editor-in-chief in the 90-year history of Time Inc., succeeding the retiring John Huey yesterday.

Nelson takes over at a time of flux for Time Inc. and every other magazine publisher as they try to navigate the digital world, which has made some publications seem impossibly dated and others out of touch with readers’ expectations.

Nelson’s appointment had been expected from the moment Huey, who is moving on to a fellowship at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, announced he was leaving.

She had served as Huey’s No. 2, editorial director, the past couple years. She was also launch editor at InStyle and People StyleWatch before that.

One of her first moves in her new position was recruiting former New York Times public editor Daniel Okrent to become interim corporate editor.

Rumors of impending job cuts continue to swirl around Time Inc., but Nelson refused to address the speculation during an interview with New York Post reporter Keith Kelly yesterday.

Tags: Daniel Okrent, editorial director, Harvard, john huey, keith kelly, magazines, martha nelson, new time inc editor in chief, new york post, new york times, time, time inc, time inc editor in chief