Edward Helmore, who writes the "Letter from...New York" column for
The Guardian in London, seems vaguely aligned with Carl Icahn and others who believe that Time Warner needs to be
dismantled. Beyond that, though, he questions the very existence of Time Warner and its Manhattan media brethren, suggesting their time has passed. Referring to the corporate skyscrapers they inhabit
in midtown, Helmore writes that "all are awe-inspiring monuments that speak to the power of communication. But there is an increasing belief that they have no reason to exist other than as
manifestations of their founders' ego and ambition." He offers no evidence to support his assertion, however, except that some of the big media companies, most notably Time Warner, have been Wall
Street laggards of late. "Tellingly, the few people standing up and defending Time Warner's right to exist are the ones who understand how to run a company of this size and breadth--because they
already do." Despite his claims to the contrary, Helmore's point of view does not seem to be widely shared by media observers in the U.S., although it cannot be denied that the giant media
congloms have been slow afoot when compared to many smaller, nimbler New Media outfits.
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