• by John Gaffney , April 24, 2003

TimeWarner: It ain't AOL TimeWarner anymore. That's what yesterday's surprising results told Wall Street as well as Madison Avenue. AOL has so overshadowed everything else that TimeWarner has that the media business forgot about all the print magazines like In Style and People that work at a profit. Forgot about the cable business. Forgot about New Line Cinema. Forgot about Warner Bros. You have to give the people at TimeWarner credit for working hard through a pretty stiff media storm. It's harder to sell your product when you first have to answer questions like "So how are things at headquarters?" Hopefully, TimeWarner puts accounting and legal worries behind it. It would be good for everyone in this business if they continue to be successful.

O.J. Back On Trial:There are certain celebrities that the TV watching public always maintains some kind of consistent interest in. Liz Taylor is one. Cher is another. O.J. Simpson is another. I think following him around for some kind of reality show (as was reported yesterday) is actually a good use of the genre. People are genuinely intrigued about how this guy can actually conduct his life. It will never see airtime because no sponsor would dare touch it. But it would get watched. Maybe this is where the reality genre hits its wall.

At The Buzzer: Need your help on our June issue. We are going to honor Rising Media Stars. Let us know about that one worthy candidate at your agency that's head and shoulders above the rest in terms of thinking and approaching the planning and buying business. Please send their name, email, department, title and paragraph detailing their "star" qualities. Send them to adam@mediapost.com.