Radhika Jones shocked the magazine industry last week when she said she would be stepping down from the top job at Vanity Fair after more than seven years. Names of possible successors shot back and forth among insiders.

A question also swirled in the wake: Is it still a good job?

Once one of the most coveted positions in American journalism, the editorship of Vanity Fair for decades has held a sheen of sophistication and cultural sway, with seemingly limitless expense accounts and budgets for lavish photo shoots.

But as the magazine industry has contracted, many of the more decadent parts of the job are long gone, replaced with meetings about website traffic and new revenue streams. And that left people debating the current appeal of the position.

“The answer is an unequivocal yes, it’s a great job,” said David Granger, the editor of Esquire from 1997 to 2016.

“I wouldn’t touch that job,” said Farrah Storr, who left her role as the editor in chief of the British edition of Elle in 2021 to join Substack. Ms. Storr said she had become frustrated with the industry after rounds of layoffs and shrinking advertising revenue made it harder to put out a good magazine.

No doubt, there are few more prominent roles in American journalism than the editor of Vanity Fair. Some of the country’s top writers and photographers regularly grace the magazine’s pages, and its annual Oscar party remains a destination for celebrities.