Conde Nast has consolidated its digital properties under a single head, MediaBuyerPlanner reports.

Sarah Chubb, former president of CondeNet — the unit that oversaw destination sites like Epicurious.com and Style.com — will lead the department and report to president/CEO Chuck Townsend.

The move marks a shift in the company's strategy of keeping destination sites separate from the sites of its individual magazines. This also makes it easier to sell advertising across all web properties, Townsend says.

Conde Nast began deploying standalone sites for its magazines last year, arguing at the time that, while it saw the potential for advertising, its main goal was to sell subscriptions.

MarketWatch, which likens the move to shuffling the deck chairs aboard the Titanic because of the publishing industry's current state of crisis, points out Conde Nast's much-hyped Portfolio all but gutted its internet operation and reduced publishing frequency just recently.

The company trimmed its online initiatives of late, making cuts at CondeNet, shutting down social network Flip.com, and bailing a network of women's blogs.

Media Industry Newsletter data showed that Conde Nast magazines suffered more than other monthly mags in January. The average magazine declined 17%, compared to the same month last year; but Conde Nast magazines declined significantly more. Allure, for example, was down 41%, while Wired was down 47% and Vogue and Lucky were both down by about 44%.

Conde Nast magazines were told in October to trim staff and budgets by 5%.