Prediction: Mort and Fred will soon part

     They've been the odd couple of American media, and for years it worked. Mort Zuckerman and Fred Drasner may have clashed as personalities but as business partners they made some beautiful music, notably the building of U.S. News & World Report as a serious contender against Time and Newsweek. 
     U.S. News several years ago was often compared to a sleek racing machine, fast, nimble and--best of all-- cheap to run, making it a publisher's dream. How much fun they had racing through the choppy waters and across the bows of their slower-chugging competitors.
   Then they went on to launch Fast Company, arguably the top title of the New Economy.
     Now it's all falling apart, and the best evidence is a column in today's New York Post, where magazine writer Keith Kelly interviews Zuckerman and Drasner. 
     The two romp and punch with words, playfully, making light of their differences.
    Put simply, the day you have to turn to the pages of the New York Post to affirm your vows, the marriage is definitely over.
      It is just a matter of time, say longtime Mort-watchers, and the time may be sooner than later.
       Much sooner, in fact. Also yesterday, Zuckerman addressed the Washington news staff of U. S. News by speakerphone, telling his employees that he would personally run U.S. News. He would be the new top executive.
     This comes a day after a major shakeup at the newsmagazine in which Zuckerman booted the magazine's top salesman, Ira Ellenthal, sending him back to the New York Daily News, which he owns with Drasner. 
     Zuckerman, in the same stroke, promoted Bill Holiber to publisher from the position of co-publisher and cut loose the magazine's other co-publisher, Jeffrey Ahl. 
      This is a significant departure for Zuckerman,  who of the dynamic duo traditionally was more concerned with things editorial. He left most of the business side to Drasner.
      It's also striking in another regard. Over recent months, notably at the time of the sale of the Atlantic in the fall, Zuckerman has been telling people he wanted to cut back his work schedule to spend more time with his family.
    Now he's assuming a full-time job--and that atop his other business interests, including his still sizable real estate business.
      What gives? According to those seasoned Mort-watchers, the empire is about to split up, with Zuckerman giving up his interest in the Daily News to Drasner while taking full control of U.S. News. Key evidence is the return of Ellenthal to the News as a top executive. Ellenthal was a Drasner hire and remained a Drasner man.
       None of the events bodes well for U.S. News. 
     The magazine has been in crisis mode now for almost two years, since the departure of publisher Tom Evans for an internet company. Evans is credited with building a crack sales team; he was also liked by many, unlike the volatile and often brutal Drasner.
        In the time since, the New York office has been plagued by departure and sinking morale. Ellenthal, though respected by many, had an impossible task repairing the damage since Evan's departure. He was no Tom Evans and made no effort to be so. The turmoil continued.
    The new team of Zuckerman and Holiber can expect to have an even rougher time. Holiber, though an experienced salesman, lacks Ellenthal's experience, and he most certainly lacks Evans' charisma.
      There's also the problem with Ahl, who was recruited to the magazine a year ago and has now been demoted from co-publisher to associate publisher. It's bad form to hire someone, promote him and then months strip him of his new title.
    Zuckerman and Holiber must now recruit new talent, with very little assurance that taking a job with U.S. News carries any security.