When he writes about fixing Time Warner, it's hard to know if Erick Schonfeld is serious or just doing what lots of writers do--trying to be provocative, essentially as an exercise in
audience-grabbing. In either case, he's succeeded in producing a piece that will be much discussed for its boldness and sweep, if not necessarily its sound business logic. Noting as millions of
others have noted (depressingly) that Time Warner's stock has long been stuck in neutral, he proposes a five-point plan for fixing the company. Here are the fixes he imagines: 1. Dump distribution
(including TW Cable and AOL Broadband); 2. Structure the company around customers, not products; 3. Create nichebusters rather than blockbusters; 4. Let the audience play with the content; 5. Become a
content rebundler. Dick Parsons and Company have no doubt considered all these options in one form or another over the last couple of years and, ultimately, dismissed them. Too bad, says Schnonfeld,
because Time Warner is missing opportunities to reshape itself for the new-media future. This is an imaginative piece; if you own Time Warner stock or if have an interest in the vitality of
traditional media companies, it's worth reading.
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