Fine, Jon, Elkin, Tobi, Friedman, Wayne, Goetzl, David, Thompson, Stephanie, and Macarthur, Kate
This article reports on the reorganization of media company AOL Time Warner upon the abrupt departure of Chief Operating Officer Bob Pittman. With Pittman's departure, AOL Time Warner loses the personification of the massive cross-platform ad deals it promised would sprout in the wake of its merger. On July 18, 2002, the media company appointed Time Inc. Chairman-CEO Don Logan as chairman of the Media & Communications Group, which includes America Online, Time Inc., Time Warner Cable and a book and interactive video unit. Jeff Bewkes, chairman-CEO of HBO, was elevated to chairman of its Entertainment & Networks Group, which includes its networks, movie studios and music units. In a memo sent to staffers announcing the changes, AOL Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons acknowledged the road after the merger had been a bumpy one. Many within the company expect changes to how things currently work, even if specifics are elusive at this point. Jamie Kellner, chairman-CEO of Turner Broadcasting System, was assigned four weeks ago, as of July 22, 2002, by Parsons to look into the structure of the Global Marketing Solutions group. Bob Sherman, president-interactive marketing for the AOL unit, thinks the Global Marketing Solutions will morph into something focused on a more targeted list of marketers, with individual divisions playing a greater role for implementing specific programs.