FORBES PUBLISHER TO LEAVE

The president and publisher of Forbes for the past nine years, Jim Berrien, is stepping down.

Berrien said he would take on the role of chairman at year-end and stay with the company for 18 additional months.

Sixteen months ago, there were rumors of tension between him and minority owners Elevation Partners – the venture capital firm that includes U2 front man Bono and Roger McNamee – which might force a premature exit from his post.

At the time, Berrien dismissed the rumors. “I have very real and emotional reasons never to leave the company,” he told the Post’s Media Ink column back in April 2007.

“I am not butting heads with them [Elevation Partners]. If you say anything about me leaving the company, it is 100 percent wrong.”

During his tenure, he had seen Forbes’ market share grow to category leadership, but lately the entire financial segment has staggered.

Through the July 21 issue, Forbes was down 18.3 percent in ad pages to 1,400.4, according to Media Industry Newsletter, Fortune stumbled 18.5 percent to 1,350 ad pages while Business Week through July 21 was off 17.3 percent to 1,027.1.

In yesterday’s memo directed to staffers, Berrien seemed to suggest he had grown weary of the battle for ad dollars.

“As many of you know, the media business has seen a lot of change the last few years – not all of it good. What I love most, high-level selling of ideas and deal-making has been challenged by an ever-growing influence of media agencies doing their best to commoditize the extraordinary products and services under the Forbes brand.”

No replacement has been named.