A look back: The cover story that set in motion events leading to the near death of Time Warner

-SHOMARI HINES From time to time we like to go back, waaay back, to revisit some of the biggest Businessweek cover stories. We've went back to revisit the Businessweek cover story with then Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin who was on top of the world at the time. We also went back to revisit the cover story on how Comcast wanted to buy Disney, a deal that would’ve probably gone sour after the ink dried. Today we continue this practice. This time we look back at that Businessweek cover story that featured one of the main architects of the AOL Time Warner merger, Robert Pittman who was criticized for hawking all the attention after the merger announcement as if he was the man in charge. The cover set off a slew of rumors of infighting due to the fact that Then AOL Time Warner CEO Geri Levin felt that he should have been on the cover but was being overstepped by Pittman. It was also said that the Pittman cover was orchestrated by the AOL side to remind the Time Warner side, who was buying who. We can understand why Levin felt that way because the cover headline which read "Show Time for AOL Time Warner. Bob Pittman's job is to implement the biggest merger in U.S. history. That's a tall order" gave the impression that Pittman was the man running the show, when in fact, Pittman shared the Chief Operating Officer title with Dick Parsons and was part of a bigger team working to get the merger running smoothly, which we all know never happened. Was Pittman directing Businessweek on the tone of the article, or was Businessweek overzealous? Who knows? But in the end, Pittman was canned, and what followed will go down in history. Show Time for AOL Time Warner [Businessweek]

It came to us last night: Dick Parsons' tell all book

-BY SDH We are so hoping for a book from TimeWarner Chairman Dick Parsons. Not only would he be paid big bucks for a book, it would be a huge hit we think. The Time Warner AOL merger is dubbed the worst merger in the history of corporate America. Wouldn't America want to know what the fuck was going on leading up to when then TimeWarner CEO Gerald Levine got on all fours for AOL's Steve Case? There has never really been any real behind the curtains details disclosed about how the deal really happened and what the environment was like after the TimeWarner board realized what they did. Wouldn't we all like to know what it was like for him to take over when the company was on life support, and how he 'Tamed" it? It wouldn’t be a problem for Dick to land a book deal, he knows a lot of people who own book publishing companies. Anyway right before we called it a day yesterday it hit us over the head, and to the right is the result of our vision of what a Dick Parsons book and title should look like. Nothing too fancy just standard. We would so pre-order this book. Come on Dick, get to it.

Looking Back: Geri Levin was on top of the world

-Shomari Hines **Looking Back is our sporadic feature where we revisit the early times of the media industry’s fallen or still standing individuals via profiles in top publications at the height of their careers I remember watching a profile of then Time Warner CEO Geri Levin years ago and I was impressed and inspired. I watched how he came to be the head of the world's biggest media company and how he was this quiet but sharp businessman who many feared in the boardrooms. I watched as he walked through the halls of Time Warner assistant in tow, taking notes as he entered his spacious corner office to meet with his top lieutenant Michael J. Fuchs whom he later fired. Geri Levin was on top of the world, but even then, people were questioning his ability to lead a media power house like Time Warner. Back in 1995 Businessweek published a profile on Geri titled "The Unlikely Mogul" which took us inside the media life of Geri Levin and his un-media mogul like ways. This was way before he made the biggest mistake in media business history that changed the shape of the business and his status as a respected media player. Now a look back at the good old times, when Geri Levin was a force to be reckoned with. Gerald M. Levin has never looked or acted like a media mogul. He rarely even tries. That wouldn't matter so much except that his relative lack of charisma is often linked to Time Warner's sagging stock price. Ever since early 1993, when he took over Time Warner's chairmanship from the late Steven J. Ross, Levin has been dogged by the notion that he is inappropriate for the job. His capital as chairman and CEO has sagged to the point where calls for his removal hardly raise an eyebrow. THE UNLIKELY MOGUL [Businessweek / Dec. 11, 1995 Issue]

Video Wire: A slimmed down Geri Levine chats with Mike Eisner

-Shomari Hines Coming out of hiding, former Time Warner CEO Gerald Levine spoke with former Disney dictator Mike Eisner on what he would change about his days at Time Warner . Jerry sometimes comes over as a man still in regret mode with some decisions he may have made in his personal life during that time. But he claims to now embrace the little things in life and having time to meditate. It's good to see Geri out and about again though. click here to view this clip

The magazine you will probably see former Time Warner boss Geri Levine's face on sometime in the future

So we received a package yesterday, Valentines Day from a Mary Bemis (she's hot!) the editor in chief of a new magazine called Organic Spa Magazine. From the look of things, this is a mag that will probably gel with the earthy types in our opinion. Anyway we got to thinking. The last magazine we saw former Time Warner CEO Geri Levine in was Vanity Fair or one of those magazines a while back. So wonder if Geri will ever do a future cover of Organic Life being that he is a spa boss now? Anyway if you're big on health and maintaining your sanity, then this is the mag for you. Organic Spa Magazine is a lifestyle magazine. We are not just a spa magazine, we are not a travel magazine: We are a lifestyle magazine promoting the marriage of spa and wellness with your sustainable and organic lifestyle. It’s about bringing the spa home…and living the organic spa lifestyle! [About Organic Spa Magazine]

Geri Levine: From Media Tycoon, to Spa-ist

Geri Levine left the world of media to do some serious soul searching and write poetry. What we never saw coming was the former Time Warner ruler getting into the spa business. Guess all the stress from the disastrous AOL buyout of Time Warner will do that to you. Anyway according to an article in W magazine, Levine and his new wife and spa partner, Laurie Perlman may be bringing their new age Moonview Sanctuary to New York. We have no idea if Time Warner employees will get special discounts though. In the article, Levin and Laurie give a rare inside view of Moonview, where for an annual fee of $175,000, they give celebrities, corporate honchos and other high rollers a huge helping of their new age healing - everything from shamanism, acupuncture, yoga and hypnotherapy sessions to brain painting, which uses the brain's electric signals to create designs on a computer screen. Three medical doctors are on staff and 80 new age practitioners are on call. Hey Geri, we've been looking for you dude! LEVIN'S BIG BRAIN DRAIN [NYP]

Missing Old Guy Alert: Still no luck

For about a month now, we have been searching high and low for some new info on one time Time Warner ruler Gerald Levine who left the company to go into the spa business out on the West Coast some years ago. We even offered up a reward for any solid info but either no one knows who the hell Geri Levin is, There is no new info on him, or no one gives a shit. Just in case there are some who do give a shit and actually know who the guy is, just remember that the reward is $10 U.S. Come on who can turn down $10 bucks?? Send all tips and sightings here

MISSING OLD GUY ALERT 2: Still no credible leads

We put out an alert last week for former Time Warner CEO Gerald Levine but we haven't been successful in finding out where or what he's been up to. We got a few emails connected to the search but none was credible. So we're thinking it could be the reward causing the lack of worthy leads. So we are raising the reward from $5 to $10 for anyone who can provide information on Gerald Levin's whereabouts. Yes we did call Time Warner but surprisingly when we mentioned the name Gerald Levine, the response was "WHO?" We were shocked that the receptionist didn't know who Gerald Levine was, but she did transfer us to corporate communications who forwarded our calls to the point where we got cut off. So again...........If there is anyone out there in media land who has some kind of info a recent photo etc that will lead us to Geri Levine please share with us and claim your reward.

WIRE REWIND<< We're totally sucking Dick & Jeff off lovely

And now the days recap: If Dick Parsons does run for Mayor, his real campaign logo would probably be Time Warner blue [Mo Dick Mo Dick Mo Dick] Come on, we're sure we aren't the first ones to notice that Les Moonves and Bill Ritter could be brothers from another mother [Separated by networks, job titles and salary] We totally kinda predicted the mornings front page news [We told ya so. Then again is anyone surprised] Do we love Judy McGrath or what? [Today In Judy For President] Carl Icahn could be the one pushing Dick out the door [Because He-Cahn] Seriously, where the fuck is Geri Levine? [MISSING OLD GUY ALERT] A slime ball to the rescue [The alleged slime ball killer who may have saved the Cable News Nets] Dick Parsons is very Mayor-esk [Hey you know what? Dick Parsons is very Mayorly] The segregation of CBS Evening News viewers is coming [CBS News wants to segregate it's Evening News viewers] The do's and the dont's for Jeff and Peggy [Jeff and Peggy on their way to super media eliteness]

MISSING OLD GUY ALERT: Have you seen Geri Levine?

Some buy their way back into the media biz. Some join the boards of other companies. Some take smaller rolls at other companies. But Former Time Warner CEO Geri Levine has gone underground. The last piece of info we saw on Geri was in an article in Vanity Fair some years ago. His mustache was shaven, and he was unhealthily thin looking. We know that he moved to California after is marriage went downhill and put his money into some kind of spa business. Yeah odd move for a former media big but we would love to know what he's been up to!! Is there anyone out their in media land that has any new info on Geri that you wouldn't mind sharing? If so drop us an email and put our worries to rest. Hey there is a handsome reward you know. Yup if anyone can tell us what Geri Levine has been up to, we will reward you with a crisp US $5 bill. Will it take Dick Parsons' rumored run for Mayor to bring him out of hiding? Oh Geri Oh Geri where are you????

Disney puts some pep in it's step....With incoming Chairman John Pepper

Ok so we were thinking someone more along the lines of Frank Biondi, or even Geri Levine, but Disney settled on naming a current member of their board of directors to the post of Chairman. John Pepper Jr. is the former head of Proctor & Gamble and will now be the cloud hanging over Bob Iger's head. This means that current chairman, former U.S. Senate Majority leader George Mitchell can go do whatever it is that former U.S. Senate Majority leaders do. And the Analysts weigh in on Pepper: Ken Harris, an analyst for marketing and sales consulting firm Cannondale Associates, said Pepper is "very qualified" to lead Disney through the dynamic moves it has made under Iger, including the purchase of Pixar and growth into Asia. "He is the right person to take an opinionated group of leaders and get consensus," Harris said. "I think that he is obviously an independent thinker and he provides an external point of view." Sanders Morris Harris analyst David Miller, who covers Disney, said Pepper "should be seen as nothing but an asset." "He is very much like Bob Iger -- a consensus builder, not a divisive guy, a great leader," Miller said. "He obviously knows something about consumer products ... and Disney is essentially a consumer-driven media company." read...

Question of the day: Where in the world is Geri Levine?

Former AOL Time Warner boss Geri Levine has gone underground. Last we heard he was putting his time into some spa retreat business out on the West Coast. The last time we saw him he shaved the mustache and lost a lot of weight which really didn’t look too healthy on him but the man wanted a whole new life after being front and center during the worst business disaster ever in U.S. history. Wait, Enron probably topped it. Geri left a life of being part of Manhattan’s media elite for sun and potential earth quakes in California. We vaguely remember reading an article on him in a magazine after he defected and he seemed happy. But we have to say he has fallen off the face of the earth in a way that no one has. We haven’t come across any recent articles even mentioning his name. And if an article does mention his name, it’s not him it’s some other Geri Levine guy. The award for best disappearing act goes to Gerald Levine. We wonder if Dick Parsons still talks to the guy from time to time. You know something like this would have worked for Mike Eisner.

The week's Fakest, funniest and scariest headline in media

We won't lie, we almost shit our pants when we came across the headline (right) and said to ourselves, "Dick fell for another one". But then we got the reading and saw that clearly this was a bogus headline. We found the article while combing through google for media headlines to make our first post of the day. Yeah Yeah what do you want me to do? I had to go to court. Anyway this fake article is funny and it makes you think back on that dreadful day Geri Levine handed Time Warner to Stave Case. [Dateline Hollywood]