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Michael Caruso, editor in chief of Men's Journal for the past two years, left Wenner Media last week after not renewing his contract, which expires in November.

Caruso clashed with Wenner.

This comes as no surprise to insiders who say Caruso spoke of leaving the men's monthly over the summer because he was unhappy with the company's management style.

Caruso declined to comment.

Said a Wenner spokesperson, "Michael Caruso's contract expired, and no agreement to extend it was reached." A replacement has not been named; managing editor Adam Bell is the title's interim editor in chief.

Caruso's departure is curious. The once-struggling title appeared to be on a roll. Men's Journal's paid circulation in this year's first half was flat at 675,017, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Single-copy sales grew impressively, up 35 percent to 102,384. Ad pages are also coming in a respectable clip. Through October, pages rose 12.6 percent to 784 compared to the year prior, reports the Mediaweek Monitor. -Lisa Granatstein