Susan Lyne in waiting to take over at Time Inc!?

-JOANNE She may have denied it time and time again but former Martha Stewart Living CEO Susan Lyne wasn't fooling anyone but herself. For over a year she has been rumored to be a favorite to take over as Time Inc CEO when current boss-lady Ann Moore exits the Time & Life building for good. During the start of said rumors, Lyne denied she was leaving MSO anytime soon. But as you all can now recall she left MSO a few weeks ago and is said to have had lunch with, or plans to have lunch with Ann Moore. Could Moore be briefing the new boss-elect on the current climate at the company? Could the meeting have been set up by Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes so both ladies can become acquainted? Could Lyne move in as CEO before Moore departs? We think so! Ann Moore could turn over her CEO duties and title to Lyne in the coming months while holding on to the Chairmanship during the changing of the guards. Taking on the gigantic Time Inc and reporting to a results driven boss like Bewkes will be a whole new challenge for Lyne, but we think she can do the job. Wait a minute. There are also these rumors about Lyne running Oprah's new OWN Network. But wasn't MTV CEO Judy McGrath's name floated for that job too?

Random Quotes: Jeff Bewkes really likes his job, no he really really does, yeah he does!

"You probably think it's good to be the CEO of Time Warner Cable. I know there is press here tonight, so I will say it 'is' good. Ironically, when I think about how much better it is than the days at HBO doing Sex and the City and The Sopranos, I 'don't' want to cry." -JEFF BEWKES, CEO TIME WARNER

Randy Falco’s job and the future of AOL hang in the balance as Wall Street and Investors play Jeff Bewkes’s favorite game of wait and see

By SDH AOL has gone through many changes since its name was ripped from the corporate logo and Steve Case called it quits. Jon Miller stuck around as CEO until he was booted for the TV exec Randy Falco and his crazy eyed number two Ron Grant. Now the company leaving Virginia behind for the concrete jungle that is New York City in an effort to stand strong in the ad game, Investors, Wall Street and we’re sure Time Warner’s board is waiting to see what the outcome will be. Under the watchful of the Time Warner COO Jeff Bewkes, the sleepy web giant transformed itself from an outdated dial up business to an open and free ad supported web portal. Both AOL CEO Randy Falco and President Ron Grant have their hands full for 2008. The two must carefully integrate the recently purchased Bebo.com and show investors that their plan is working. If it all this goes you can bet, Wall Street and Investors will be calling for heads to roll and/or a sale.

Folio Magazine releases their annual stroke job list of magazine industry influencers and innovators

By SDH Folio Magazine the magazine about magazines and the people who markets them does it again with their popular Folio 40 list where magazine industry execs get to see their names in print and read all the nice things Folio, whose subscribers are said execs, has to say about them. Each magazine industry professional listed on the Folio 40 will no doubt continue the stroke job via an internal press release to their employees shoving the accomplishments in their faces as if it benefits anyone but themselves. We bet they will also update their resumes mentioning this listing as well. The list hi-lites those making bold and smart moves in the industry via the following categories: the Visionaries, the doers, the influencers, those under the radar and of course the ones to watch. Our good old buddy (in our heads of course) Jeff Bewkes made the list under the “Ones to watch” category because according to Folio: All eyes have been on Jeff Bewkes since he took the helm of the mega media company January 1. Even before Bewkes' appointment was announced, speculation about Time Inc.'s future ran rampant. Bewkes has since downplayed the possible sale of the publishing division, but the industry will have to wait and see. Wow!! He made the list for this? We think David Pecker would have been better in Bewkes’s place with a merger still possible for AMI and all the other shit that Pecker has all over his hands. At this point to include Bewkes on the list seems like a quick space filler. If not Bewkes or Pecker, then Time Inc CEO Ann Moore, because whatever decision Bewkes makes regarding the future of Time Inc, wouldn’t it be based on what Moore can squeeze out before her contract runs out of steam?

Ted Turner still hurting over CNN, Doesn't want to be chummy with Rupert Murdoch, and thinks news networks are hiring too many chickens

By SDH Ted Turner the one time media mogul, who suffers from a rare case of foot in mouth disease, sat with PBS's Charlie Rose for a one on one where he spoke about his current rolls as Chairman of the United Nations Foundation and Restaurateur. Ted says he would love to see all nuclear weapons wiped off the face of the earth and more steps taken to produce cleaner energy. But what caught our ears the most was when Ted spoke about how angry he was when the AOL Time Warner deal went to hell. He also shared that Michael Milken, Liberty Media boss John Malone and two others he refused to name told him to support the deal thinking it would have been a huge success. But as it turns out they were wrong. Ted also spoke about his long time feud with News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch which was not too long ago put to rest over lunch at Ted Turner's restaurant, Ted's Montana Grill. But even though they buried the hatchet, he doesn't want to be too chummy with Rupert and is still wondering if he should invite him to his 70th birthday bash. Asked about what he thinks about CNN today and other news networks, Turner went into his usual shotgun mouth mode and said, CNN is too giddy and needs to be more serious because he believes news should be serious especially in these times. He is also not pleased with the networks letting quality journalists go in favor of eye candy, which he called chickens. When asked about the very opinionated Lou Dobbs, Turner basically said Dobb’s needs to shut up and just report the news. Turner says that Dobb’s has become too opinionated. He said if he was still running things at CNN he would put Dobbs in check, which he claimed to have done in the past when he was running things at CNN. Ted talked about how he almost bought CBS, ABC and NBC at some point but each of them slipped through his fingers. Ted sounds like he misses the media business and feels like he could do more. When asked by Rose if he would team up with Rupert Murdoch on a project, he didn’t brush it off. So is Ted Turner done with the media business? At almost 70 and all those major brands under his belt, it’s easy to say he is done. But with all his money and connections, we don’t see any reason to right him off just yet.

Relieved he didn't have to go through a head-hunter, Time Warner CFO John Martin assembles his minions

By SDH Earlier this week there were some major changes announced at Time Warner. No Jeff Bewkes didn't rip open Time Inc and turn it upside down. The big changes happened in the company's finance department under CFO John Martin. Since taking over for former CFO and brothel patron Wayne Pace, Martin has been slowly and silently pulling his team together to make sure that when the time comes for CEO Jeff Bewkes to really make some bold moves, his team is ready crunch the numbers. Martin has now placed himself on a pedestal with three direct reports. In making the announcement, Mr. Martin said: "These changes will help our finance group work more effectively with our businesses to pursue growth opportunities, maximize our performance and create value for our shareholders. I'm especially pleased that today's appointments come from within our company, reflecting the impressive talent and management depth we have at Time Warner." [Source]

Extreme Makeover: Time Inc Edition

By SDH There is no doubt that changes are needed at Time Warner’s magazine publishing unit Time Inc. This is the division that has gone mostly untouched for sometime now. Under current CEO Ann Moore, the company unloaded its enthusiast titles to Bonnier Corp, launched and folded the well hyped OfficePirates.com, re-launched and folded Life (which is supposed to re-launch again as Getty Images type web destination), killed Business 2.0 and pink slipped dozens of staffers. OK so all this is business as usual in the magazine industry and not attributed to Moore’s management style. We all know It’s no secret that when a company is looking to cut costs they look to layoff staffers first to fluff up the bottom line. But is that all the shuffling we will see at Time Inc? The company is legendary and publishes 125 titles, and has a slew of businesses in fulfillment, content solutions, retail sales and marketing, customer acquisition and the list goes on. We are not sure how these businesses are doing for the company but some serious streamlining needs to take place in these areas in order to establish a more focused objective. CONTINUED... MAKING AN EFFORT The company has been slowly but surely making a push on the digital side. This was one of the reasons why new Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes decided to wait and see what will become of this digital push before making any decisions. Fair enough we guess, but even before Bewkes took over, Time Inc was badly in need of a makeover. The company needs to be refreshed with new ideas, objectives and a new structure to better meet the current challenges that publishing companies face. Time Inc for the most part is still stuck in analog while other companies remake themselves to handle the changing climate. If the suits at parent Time Warner want to see some changes, they need to make the first move. For starters, we think a fresh face at the top would kick things off right. Not to discredit Ann Moore, but a change at the top would signal a new beginning and would be a strong statement. Following a change at the top, the company needs to be spun off so it feeds off of itself, officially weaned off mommy’s tit. By doing this, investors and the Time Warner board will see the true value of the company and will probably get a clear idea of the value of each product the company publishes, online, print and the different businesses which sit underneath it. DECISION TIME Following a spin off, Time Warner should then take a long hard look at all Time Inc’s products and businesses and decide which ones are no longer worth keeping in the stable and look to unload them via an auction to raise cash to invest in the company’s digital business via strategic acquisitions or R&D. From these auctions, the current roster of 125 magazines should be reduced to about 70-90, and businesses should be streamlined where it makes sense. Hopefully with these reductions the company will see savings on paper, printing and of course salaries following an obvious layoff of staffers. These auctions should only include low performing or none core domestic and overseas titles and businesses. A successful sell off and streamlining of businesses will leave the once bloated Time Inc with some cash and a more lean and mean physique to move swiftly and aggressively towards growing its digital business and strengthening already established brands. Earlier we mentioned a change at the top. A TRIMMED STRUCTURE A new Time Inc under a new leader should have a more clear and streamlined structure. For example the magazine groups are currently broken out into 6 areas, Entertainment, Home/Living, Life/Style, Luxury, News/Business & Finance and Sports. Right off the bat both the Entertainment and Sports groups should be merged as one. The Life/Style and Home/Living groups should be merged as one cutting the 6 groups to 4. Such a restructuring would result in instant cost savings. For International, everything needs to fall under the Time Inc brand further pushing the one brand one focus objective. IN JEFF BEWKES’S SHOES Standing in Jeff Bewkes’s shoes the two names that would be at the top of our list would be Reader’s Digest Association (RDA) CEO Mary Berner, and outgoing Ebay CEO Meg Whitman. It’s obvious why we would have Mary Berner’s name on the list but you may be wondering why Meg Whitman? Well Meg Whitman has a strong consumer background and understands their behavior on and off the web. These experiences come from her being CEO of Ebay of course, and her being a top executive in Disney’s consumer products division which we think would come in handy at Time Inc. As far as t Mary Berner, since being named CEO of RDA, Berner has wasted no time putting her stamp on the company. She re-lined the corporate suite with people she knows and trusts and is putting some spark back into the company’s flagship publication Reader’s Digest by green lighting a total re-design in print and online under new Editor Peggy Northrop. Any one of these two women would be a good choice to take the reigns at Time Inc. We have no doubt that there are some good male candidates out there but for some reason since Don Logan passed the baton to Moore, we only see another woman after the Moore era ends. CAN’T ANN MOORE DO THE JOB? When someone has been in a company as long as Ann Moore has been at Time Inc, they sometimes are blind to certain things. They are sometimes immune to the fact that changes are needed. In cases like this, a fresh mind is needed because Moore may have hit a glass roof with her ideas which sometimes causes a recycling effect. In today’s magazine industry climate, size doesn’t matter, and it’s the size of Time Inc that is preventing it from reaching its full potential.

Jeff Bewkes to step down as Time Warner CEO, at least his contract says he can if he doesn’t get the Chairman title

MEDIA WIRE DAILY So Time Warner shareholders and perhaps some board members are pushing for the CEO and Chairman titles to be separate to avoid what they call conflict of interests. However Jeff Bewkes’s contract reportedly states that if he isn’t handed the Chairmanship, to go along with his CEO-ship, he can resign from the company. So if it the vote goes in favor of separating both titles come May 16 at the annual meeting, will Jeff Bewkes leave Time Warner? Not locking down the Chairman title to go with the CEO title may leave Jeff feeling as though he really isn’t calling the shots and may cause him to think about leaving. But he would be stupid to let a little thing like a title drive him to the exit. Where would he go? There are no top spots open at any other major media company so that’s out the door. However one can speculate that this was all designed by the board to get rid of Bewkes in favor of someone else, because he doesn’t know what the hell he is doing. But that’s going off the cliff a little bit. On that not, here is a late poll: WILL/SHOULD JEFF BEWKES QUIT AS CEO IF HE ISN'T NAMED CHAIRMAN AS WELL YES, HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING ANYWAY NO, HE WOULD BE STUPID TO QUIT OVER THAT

When fantasies border on stupidity

By SDH We’ve heard crazy ideas/fantasies before like when it was suggested that Time Warner buy Starbucks, that one, though clearly just someone talking out of their rear was just extreme and made absolutely no sense no matter how anyone wants to look at it. Now comes another crazy idea/fantasy though not as extreme as the Time Warner Starbucks suggestion, this one is also someone talking out of their rear. After browsing over at “All Things Digital” we came across a post from Kara Swisher who begs that we indulge her, in her no sense fantasy/idea that instead of Microsoft buying Yahoo! They should buy AOL and the giant media company attached to it, Time Warner. AOL by the way is attached to Time Warner, and why say Microsoft buying Time Warner would be a bargain compared to Yahoo! While in the same breath mentioning that the current price tag for Time Warner is $51.5 billion but it would balloon to about $87 billion due to debt? Double the price of what Microsoft is offering for Yahoo! We know it’s just a fantasy but we’re talking reality here. If Microsoft were to even mention that they are kicking the tires on the overweight Time Warner, their stock would go into a free fall. Microsoft knows nothing about traditional media which is what makes up the majority of Time Warner. And bottom line, it would be AOL Time Warner 2.0. The only thing that would fit with Microsoft is AOL, so why not just grab AOL if Jeff Bewkes decided to sell. No need to buy a bunch of assets you’re going to have to unload just to gain control of one. There is no value in Harry Potter, HBO or any other Time Warner brands, shows, networks for Microsoft. If Former Time Warner CEO Geri Levine didn’t get caught up in the hype that was AOL, Time Warner would probably be in good shape right now. But it is still suffering from the after effects of that merger. Kara Swisher asks why doesn’t Microsoft buy Time Warner. Well the answer to that is simple. They have no interest in dumping a load of cash on a debt laced company in a business they know nothing about, that is still trying to find their way after being knocked on their ass. Oh yeah and Steve Ballmer kinda likes his job and net worth. We think the same goes for Bill Gates, at least on the net worth part.

The new New Line + Disney's boys + NBC Uni to unload stations + Newspapers continue to fight for online love

The New New Line: After announcing that he will fold the legendary New Line into the even more Legendary Warner Bros Studios because he can, Jeff Bewkes has a new man in charge now at a more smaller and nimble New Line as other top execs wait around to be fired. Toby Emmerich has been named Prexy and Chief Operating Officer. Disney's Boys: Disney continues to corner the kiddie market with the announcement that they have entered a deal with teen sensations The Jonas Brothers to produce a new reality show based on their everyday life on tour and off. They sure know how to milk em don't they? NBC Universal To Unload Some Stations: In an attempt to leave smaller markets behind, NBC Universal says that it is selling two of it's many stations WTVJ in Miami and WVIT in Hartford, Connecticut. No word on how much the company will pocket after a sale but we're sure it won't be chump change. Newspapers continue their fight: In the never ending effort to remain relevant in these internet dominated times, a bunch of newspaper publishers are joining a new ad network called quadrantONE which helps newspaper publishers to capture money that advertisers are taking away from printed newspapers and moving online as they see more people spending their time on the Internet. These newspapers would sell their soul for ad dollars.

At TimeWarner, the makeover has begun

BY SDH On Saturday, Jeff Bewkes will hit the two month mark as Time Warner CEO. It will also mark the beginning of the long awaited restructuring under the Bewkes Administration. As speculated just two weeks into the CEO gig, Jeff Bewkes has made his move on New Line Cinema. The movie studio will now be thrown under the Warner Bros umbrella and New Line Co heads Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne will get their walking papers, but of course that part is being spun as if leaving the company was their choice. This is just part of the first stage of what many expect to be a drastic makeover of one of the world's biggest media companies, whose stock has been stock in a ditch and whose dominant position has dwindled as competitors like News Corp take the lead. Now if only Bewkes didn’t decide to do a wait a see with the company’s overweight magazine business, Time Inc. We are moving quickly to improve our business performance and financial returns," Time Warner President and CEO Jeff Bewkes said in a statement. Time Warner puts New Line Cinema under Warner Bros [Reuters]

Time Warner continues to work at eliminating its cumbersome structure

BY SDH Time Warner in an effort to save some cash, said that it plans to cut more jobs. The first round of cuts will happen at the luggy Time Inc, where jobs were already cut about a year ago. Many have said that the business unit needs to be cut down in size as far as the many different businesses it operates. Luckily though, this time the cuts will only hit a little over 100 people. Belt-tightening efforts continued last year across other parts of the sprawling company, resulting in $262 million in restructuring costs as 4,400 employees were terminated. That was down slightly from 2006, when the company spent $295 million as it eliminated 5,600 jobs Time Warner to Cut More Magazine Jobs [SFGate]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news...

Time Warner Spent $3.6 Million trying to get congress to lean their way We're sure big companies like Time Warner have budgets specifically set up for lobbying. In 2007 Time Warner spent $3.6 million lobbying on television, satellite and broadband-related legislation. Reed Elsevier running from ad recession? Reed Elsevier is unloading its Business Information unit in what some see as a bail out of dealing with an ad recession. The company is trading up publishing business information titles for ChoicePoint, a risk management information provider. Yawn! UK Newspapers enjoying spike in web traffic due to U.S. based stories The US presidential elections, the death of Heath Ledger and Britney Spears' ongoing problems produced record traffic for the UK's newspaper websites during January. Now imagine what would happen if Britney gets pregnant for one of her creepy male hanger-ons. BSkyB will not give in without a fight Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB announced that it will fight to the death against a ruling ordering it to sell the majority of its 17.9% stake in ITV.

Jeff Bewkes's game of wait and see with Time Inc, not a smart one, or so you say

BY SDH When Jeff Bewkes hosted his first earnings call as CEO of Time Warner many were anxious to hear his plans for the future of the company. Some of the things he mentioned were expected like continuing to revamp AOL from sleepy dial up to ad machine. But what no one really expected was his decision to keep the luggy Time Inc magazine business as is, with hopes of it becoming growth business via digitalization. We asked you, our readers if Jeff Bewkes was making a mistake by leaving Time Inc with its over 100 magazines in tact and 56% of you who participated said he is indeed making a mistake.

Time Warner Chairman Dick Parsons covers the left side of Black Enterprise Magazine

"My new job is to make sure that Jeff Bewkes is effectively communicating his vision and direction to the board, and that board input is being effectively received by Jeff" -TIME WARNER CHAIRMAN DICK PARSONS ON HIS CURRENT ROLL WITHIN THE COMPANY BY SDH Time Warner Chairman Dick Parsons now out of the bright lights of managing the day to day of the mega machine that is Time Warner, now has even more time on his hands to not only tend to his vineyard in Italy but to sit with Black Enterprise magazine to discuss what his roll is as Chairman of Time Warner and his legacy as the company's CEO after it's near collapse after his predecessor Geri Levine sold his soul to then AOL CEO Steve Case in a merger that was over hyped and entered with blind folds on.

For Jeff Bewkes, it’s a damned if you do damned if you don't kinda situation

BY SDH Just a little over a month on the job and Jeff Bewkes finally gave some hints as to what his immediate first plans are to set overweight Time Warner on a path to re-invention (if you will). As you know by now from all the coverage its been getting, the lanky lord of everything from CNN to HBO to Time Inc, said that his team is working to split off AOL's outdated dial up business with plans for a possible sale (to who?), he is also taking a long hard look at cable and will get back to investors on that one. But the shocker of that whole earnings report for us was the fact that Bewkes says that he is sticking it out with Time Inc, the publisher of magazines like Time and People. OK so maybe it wasn't too much of a shocker but we thought that like AOL and Time Warner cable, Time Inc would have been put on a lift for a serious look under the hood. Nope. Bewkes will decide what to do with the magazine business if and when it turns into a growth business with all the digitalization going on over there and all. So anyway on that note, today's poll: IS JEFF BEWKES MAKING A MISTAKE BY LEAVING TIME INC INTACT? YES, THE COMPANY HIT A GLASS ROOF YEARS AGO NO, IT CAN BECOME A GROWTH BUSINESS JEFF BEWKES IS AN IDIOT

The quote that bought Time Inc CEO Ann, Moore Time

"We're good at publishing. We're a leader in the industry. It's a good business we think. As it expands out beyond print into digital we think it can turn into a growth business," Bewkes said, adding that keeping Time Inc. intact “depend[s] on our being able to demonstrate that to ourselves and our investors.” -Jeff Bewkes, CEO TimeWarner

John Malone now has an additional 369 reasons to throw Barry Diller out on his ass, and more in this Afternoon's round up

-SDH For IAC/Interactive Corp CEO Barry Diller, news that the company lost $369.9 million in the fourth quarter, on a big write-down at its mortgage referral business couldn't have come at a worst time. Reports like this will just give Diller's indirect boss John Malone more ammunition in his quest to re-gain Liberty's 62% voting shares from Diller and use them to show him the door. [AP] So Time Warner says they are working to split AOL's outdated dial business from it's newly rolled out ad driven business. But if Time Warner is looking to sell the dial up business, who in the world would want to by a declining business? [CNNmoney] Businessweek announced today that it has named Jessica Sibley in a new roll as Senior Vice President and Worldwide Publisher [PRNW]

Jeff Bewkes cutting some bloated salaries in Time Warner's corporate suite

-SDH Being the CEO of a publicly traded company, you're always on a mission to keep costs down and revenue up. One of the ways to do this is to fire a bunch of people and then claim those salaries as part of your overall earnings on paper so investors are happy and you're job is safe until the next quarter or something like that. Usually the cuts happen way down the ladder among minions of minions of minions. Time Warner has one of the thickest layers of management in the business. Some people there even have titles that doesn't even hint at what it is they do. But this may be coming to an end or if not an end some layers will be erased as AdAge reported yesterday that Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes plans to cut bury 75 bodies in corporate which will no doubt save the company a nice chunk of cash. This is perhaps the beginning of more drastic changes on the horizon in management and the overall structure of the company. Who will be affected by these cuts? Our money is on the middle-men. No one should be surprised at this at all. Jeff Bewkes did say that he will do whatever he as to do to please shareholders and have no calms about it.

Correction: Time Warner reports a 41 percent decline in fourth-quarter profits, Bewkes shares his immediate plans

"In change lies opportunity, and I have great confidence in our future" -Jeff Bewkes, CEO TimeWarner -SDH In its first earnings report under new CEO Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner reported a 41 percent decline in fourth-quarter profits but met or exceeded financial objectives for 2007. Looking ahead Jeff Bewkes claims that the company has identified key initiatives that will allow them to deliver strong results well into the future. Apparently that will start with the pink slipping of over 60 employees followed by a long awaited restructuring. Wall Street is still wondering what will happen with AOL now that a sale of the internet giant valued at $20 billion may not be a reality. For now AOL continues to undergo a major overhaul from sleepy dial up to an ad driven portal. Investor have focused on AOL, which is in the midst of a radical overhaul as it gets out of the dial-up Internet business and builds up its online advertising model. Wall Street had hoped Time Warner could sell or spin off AOL, but those prospects became murkier last week after Microsoft Corp. announced an unsolicited bid for Yahoo Inc. That would not only eliminate two likely bidders for AOL, but also create a major online advertising power. Cable TV Drives Time Warner Profit [NYT]

More redundant advice for Jeff Bewkes courtesy of Businessweek

-SDH If poor Jeff Bewkes were to take everyone's advice on what he should do now that he is in the driver's seat at Time Warner, his big head would explode. Don't get me wrong, we are in no position to be pointing fingers because we have given our share of advice to Mr. Bewkes as well. But what bugs us about this Businessweek article is that it seems late and just out of place at this point. Written by Ron Grover with the headline "At Time Warner, Time for Change" it just seems like a story that should have been published back when Bewkes took office in January. We all know change is needed at Time Warner, we all gave our advice and shared our opinions on the subject, not that Jeff Bewkes is reading any of it, at least we don’t think so, but this subject is now a sit and wait subject. It has only been a month and few days since Bewkes woke up as CEO. Hopefully he will make the right decisions that will benefit shareholders and his own ass. The guy is probably still ordering office supplies for crying out loud and proofing his new business cards.

Selling AOL is probably the last thing on Jeff Bewkes's mind

-SDH Since the Microsoft bid for Yahoo! speculations started to come from all angles regarding Time Warner's AOL business. Some say AOL could be doomed, some say there is no one to buy AOL now and some call it, Jeff Bewkes's first test. We call it all bullshit. Who says Jeff Bewkes was even thinking abut selling off AOL. Personally, we think he is going to keep AOL under Time Warner and continue to build it into an ad powerhouse while focusing more on what to do with old content businesses like Time Inc, and fully spinning off Time Warner cable. The only change we would like to see at AOL is Randy Falco gone and replaced by a real internet guy. AOL is just part of a bigger test Jeff Bewkes faces. He already passed the first test and that was to show the board he is the man to takeover the company. Related: AOL buys online affiliate marketing network buy.at

Next week is Super Tuesday earnings report week

-SDH Next week's entertainment line up is looking to be an exciting one. On Monday, News Corp will report its 2nd Quarter Fiscal 2008 results. On this call analysts will be waiting to hear about any plans in the works for the recently acquired Dow Jones as well why they decided to not free up the Wall Street Journal website, DUH! On Tuesday it will be Disney's turn to spill the beans about their First Quarter 2008 Financials. Disney is expected to announce earnings of 52 cents a share on $10 billion in revenue, not too bad Bobby! Can we get some acquisition news soon though? Saving the best for last, Jeff Bewkes will make his debut on Time Warner's earnings call as CEO on Wednesday. We have no doubts analysts are itching for this one. Some of the questions Bewkes and his team are expected to face will include, what are his plans for the oversized company, AOL, Time Inc etc... Oh yeah they are expected to report earnings of 29 cents a share on revenue of $12.6 billion. But we all know analysts will be more concerned about Bewkes's plans for the structure of the company. Media conglomerates seen posting higher profits [MarketWatch]

It took Microsoft's bid for Yahoo! not Jeff Bewkes's appointment as CEO to move Time Warner's stock

-SDH Microsoft's monstrous bid for web giant Yahoo! is sending shock waves through the media industry and people like Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes probably couldn't be happier. Microsoft's bid for Yahoo! is making investors take another look at Time Warner's AOL unit. Following news of the Microsoft bid, Time Warner's stock shot up a little over 9% as investors slapped a higher value on AOL. But unless Time Warner is selling AOL then this valuation is just some kind of mental comfort for investors, no? ``All of a sudden, it helps people sharpen their pencils and do a similar valuation on the AOL business,'' said David Katz, chief investment officer at Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. in New York, which owns about 3 million Time Warner shares among $1.6 billion in assets. ``It's worth 60 percent more today than yesterday.'' Time Warner Gains on AOL Valuation After Microsoft's Yahoo Bid [Bloomberg]

Jeff Bewkes has the balls to run Time Warner

-By SDH The media business world is itching to see what new Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes's first move will be to get the juices flowing at Time Warner again. With the company’s stock in the shitty neighborhood of $14, Bewkes needs to do something drastic and out of the blue to send a message to investors and Wall Street, like firing Time Inc CEO Ann Moore and AOL head Randy Falco, two people who aren't capable of leading their companies in these new media times, and install new blood from outside the company. OK so maybe that’s a little too drastic right out the gate, but those are two changes that need to be made to start the process. Will Bewkes drop any hints during Time Warner's 2007 fourth-quarter and full-year results on Wednesday, February 6, his first earnings call as CEO? Under former CEO Dick Parsons, the company seemed frozen and Parsons didn't seem willing to thaw it out and get creative. Its clear the board elected Parsons to do some well needed cleaning after the disaster that was the AOL-Time Warner merger. But when Parsons was done cleaning, it’s as if he got stuck not knowing what to do next. More... Well it was only right that Bewkes stepped up as the new shot caller because according to a recent story in New York Magazine, Bewkes was Parsons' hit man, the man Parsons would send to confront individuals he couldn’t bring himself to face. Sure Parson's doesn't admit it out right but Jeff Bewkes was Parsons' muscle and he (Bewkes) wasn't afraid to tell people like Steve Case he was full of shit. Dick Parsons was perhaps too diplomatic for the CEO gig after a while. It seems as though he was worried about pissing people off than doing what he needs to do to inject some energy into the company. Then again he could have just been busy in Italy tending to his vineyard. Parsons' well liked diplomacy began to work against him after a while. Many, including Bewkes believed he (Parsons) allowed corporate thug Carl Icahn to bamboozle him into spending boat loads of cash to buy back stock when he could and probably should have used the money elsewhere. Time Warner's board and investors need not worry. They got it right when they approved Bewkes as the company's new CEO. Bewkes is clearly a take no prisoners leader who speaks his mind and will not think twice about making the changes necessary to benefit shareholders. After all they are who he works for.

Heath-O-Rama: Time Warner may have gold in Heath Ledger's death but they will never admit it

-SDH With the untimely death of movie star Heath Ledger, Time Warner will benefit even if it's wrong for them to admit it. Not only did People Magazine (published by Time Inc) beat competitors to a cover story, another Time Warner division, Warner Bros. will release "The Dark Knight" this summer with Ledger playing the Joker. Time Warner totally owns Ledger's death and they will indirectly promote anything Heath related to ensure that no one forgets about the actor at least not until after the release of "The Dark Knight". Fans of the actor will no doubt flock to movie theaters to see their idol in what may be his last movie. With People Magazine's cover win, Time Inc will see the results in their spreadsheets.

Is Jeff Bewkes about about to flat line New Line?

-SDH According to Nikki Finke New Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes is set to meet with New Line Cinema founders Bob Shaye and Michael to discuss their soon to be up contracts. However according to Finke no new deal is expected to come out of the discussions. What is expected to come out of the discussions is the end of New Line. Bewkes is expected to fold New Line into Warner Bros in a clear effort to cut what he may see as unnecessary costs. Is this the beginning of more cuts leading up to a full blown break up of Time Warner? Finke says: I can't pinpoint just when the formal announcement of Shaye's and Lynne's departures will come, but it's a safe bet that New Line will be folded into Warner Bros as a result, moving such premium projects as the long anticipated back-to-back feature films of that beloved book The Hobbit. Well, it's about time! Kudos to Bewkes for having the brass balls to make this bold move. I've found Bastard Bob's behavior over this past year to be abhorrent, from his studio's legal shenanigans with Peter Jackson to his own "Lord Of The Rants" attacks on director after director who's made money for New Line. Good thing Shaye will be leaving sooner rather than later: I was running out of pejoratives (like "prick" and "idiot") to describe him. SOURCES: Bob Shaye's New Line Contract Won't Be Renewed By Time Warner Boss [Deadline Hollywood]