Has Neal Boulton become too radioactive for American Media? Last week, the Men's Fitness editor in chief turned up in a Page Six item linking him romantically to Rolling Stone owner Jann Wenner. Then, two days ago, in a development that may or may not be related, AMI chief David Pecker appointed a seasoned magazine veteran, Roy S. Johnson, to oversee the title on a temporary basis.

Officially, Johnson, who previously worked at Sports Illustrated, is only running Men's Fitness until Boulton returns from a medical leave that began last week, at which point he'll go back to his job developing TV concepts based on AMI's tabloids and fitness titles. But staffers at the magazine have the distinct impression that Johnson is there to stay.

Why would AMI replace Boulton, who has another year left on his contract, and who, until now, seemed like he could do no wrong in Pecker's eyes? His recent Page Six cameo could have something to do with it. Though married with kids, Boulton is more or less out at work, a bold enough move for the editor of a macho-to-the-point-of-self-parody muscle mag. But it's one thing to be gay (several other MF staffers are out as well); it's another to be accused of publicly snogging the male chief of a rival publishing house.

Incidentally, Wenner employees, though not normally keen to defend their boss, believe the Page Six item was a fabrication engineered to boost Boulton's name recognition. Boulton, who's fourtyish, "isn't even Jann's type," says one top staffer. And what is Jann's type? "Twenty-year-olds."

Photo: Neil Rasmus/PatrickMcMullan.com