Mort Zuckerman's got problems at U.S. News & World Report, and sooner than expected he's moved to set things right. 
    Yesterday, Zuckerman ousted Ira Ellenthal as group publisher after just a year in the post, sending him back to the New York Daily News as associate publisher.
     In the same stroke, Zuckerman promoted Bill Holiber to the post of publisher of U.S. News. 
      Holiber, publisher of the Atlantic until its September sale by Zuckerman, had only recently been named co-publisher of U.S. News, along with Jeffrey S. Ahl.
      Ahl's position has been eliminated and his fate is unclear.
       A shakeup at U.S. News had been rumored more and more of late, amid reports that Ellenthal was failing to bring the magazine's sales team together. For months the New York office had been wracked by low morale and defections. It was a point not lost on competitors, who say the sales staff has been disorganized and less of a presence in the marketplace. 
      U.S. News's  ad pages climbed 4.6 percent in 1999, while ad revenues rose 9.7 percent. Category leader Time saw a 10.6 percent rise in ad pages and a 17.2 percent hike in revenue.
       Zuckerman has also had to contend with the suicide in November of Kimberly Jensen, a top lieutenant who took her life after being confronted with the apparent theft of company funds.
      But a more overreaching problem for Zuckerman has been the diminishing presence of Fred Drasner, boss of the real estate tycoon's media empire and widely credited as a brilliant if brutal businessman responsible for U.S. News' growth over the past decade as a serious challenger to Time and Newsweek.
       Drasner is a part owner of the Washington Redskins football team, and insiders say he's all-consumed by football and less and less involved in Zuckerman's publications.
      The question looming is whether Zuckerman can manage the business side of his publications without Drasner at his side.  
    If insiders have their doubts, yesterday's changes will probably not boost their expectations any.
    Staffers, notably on the editorial side, headquartered in Washington, had been urging changes in the New York office, hoping for an appointment of a respected magazine industry leader to fill in the vacancy left by Drasner's diminished presence.
      Earlier this winter they were annoyed to see Holiber, a longtime Ellenthal protégé, named co-publisher of the magazine at the expense of Ahl, who was well-liked and respected. They felt Ahl should have gotten the full title and promptly dismissed Holiber as something of an empty helmet.
       The question now is what more changes Zuckerman has in mind.
    Ellenthal's position as chief executive of the magazine group is not being filled--at least for now. Will Zuckerman now move to find a top executive to fill Drasner's role?  
    Or might Zuckerman sell? Reports that U.S. News is on the block have been surfacing since he dumped the Atlantic, but Zuckerman is telling people the magazine is dear to him and that he would sell his real estate interests first. 
    There's certainly reason to believe that would be the case. The magazine, far more than the Daily News, gives Zuckerman a presence in Washington power circles. Without the magazine, he would be just another real estate tycoon with an interest in larger issues.