• by John Gaffney , November 11, 2002

Dr. Time and Mr. Warner: AOL/TimeWarner is letting its dual corporate personalities show. Let’s call personality number one Dr. Time. Dr. Time likes to analyze numbers, form mergers that may not work out in the future and wheel and deal rather than focus on tried-and-true revenue generators. Dr. Time bets the Jets and Giants every Sunday. Plays the markets fast and loose. Dr. Time thinks taking CNN and merging it with a news organization that is part of another media conglomerate is a great idea. Then there’s Mr. Warner. He is focused on generating revenue in more traditional ways. Mr. Warner thinks print start-ups can still work. Mr. Warner thought InStyle magazine was a winner, when no one else thought it was. Now Mr. Warner thinks America’s insatiable appetite for celebrity might support a new print magazine. Mr. Warner calmly dares you to disbelieve. Any takers?

Hope For Deliverance: I hypothesized a few weeks ago that the entertainment business may be primed for a heady percent increase next year. Some evidence: Sony is backing its latest release of ATV Offroad for PlayStation 2 with national advertising across television, print and online, as well as heavy promo efforts. There’s a lot at stake in the games business. If the Sony’s, Nintendos and Microsoft’s decide to spend more per software title, rather than on formats, my prediction might be right.

Business As Usual: I see a lot of the business mags have turned to covering the “New CEO,” and the “new honest age of business.” I don’t know about you, but I’d like to see more about second-tier managers that are really getting things done on the street in terms of sales, marketing, advertising and ethics. We got in trouble glorifying CEOs over the last two years, didn’t we?