Bill Wilson

Former AOL Media Boss Bill Wilson Rounds Up the Old Gang

Peter Kafka in Media on December 13, 2010 at 4:55 am PT

Ten former AOLers get new gigs at a radio station chain and start to building. Up first: 30 new local sites plus Taste of Country, which is dedicated to…well, you can guess.

Top AOL Media Exec Marty Moe To Depart (Other Rumors of David Eun Ankling Not So Much)

Kara Swisher in News on August 23, 2010 at 10:56 am PT

According to sources close to the situation, one of AOL’s top, longtime media execs, Marty Moe, is leaving the company. Sources said the reasons were personal and that Moe–who is now SVP of the Media unit’s News & Information Group at the online portal–was not currently taking another job. While there have been a spate of rumors recently that President of Media and Studios David Eun was the one on his way out, sources at AOL said such speculation was inaccurate.

Another Googler Goes to AOL: YouTube Boss Dave Eun Replaces Bill Wilson as Content Boss

Peter Kafka in Media on February 4, 2010 at 11:46 am PT

Former Google sales boss Tim Armstrong has brought a slew of former colleagues with him to AOL, but this may be his highest-profile hire so far: Dave Eun, who has been in charge of content deals at Google and YouTube, will replace Bill Wilson, one of the last high-profile AOL guys from the pre-Armstrong era.

AOL: More Org Chart Shuffles Coming; So Are Ad Dollars. But Mum on Microsoft.

Peter Kafka in Media on September 21, 2009 at 8:15 am PT

CEO Tim Armstrong says he’s still overhauling the Internet company in advance of its spinoff from Time Warner, but he has hopeful noises to make about ad sales. He has nothing, however, to say about chats with Microsoft.

AOL Spinoff Approved Last Night by Time Warner Board: Here Are the Inside Details (Not in the Press Release)

Kara Swisher in News on May 28, 2009 at 5:23 am PT

While there were reports that the Time Warner board was meeting today to approve the spin-off of its AOL online unit, it actually gave the move an “enthusiastic endorsement” last night, according to sources. Time Warner just put out the press release about the move that would make AOL an “independent, publicly traded company.” But, several sources with knowledge of the situation said AOL CEO and Chairman Tim Armstrong is set to make massive changes to the structure of AOL, sweeping aside its current set-up almost completely. That includes keeping the access business, which many thought would be sold off and putting many of the companies it has recently acquired–including its pricey Bebo social networking site–in a separate ventures unit, which will try to attract outside investment.

AOL Lands Another Media Refugee: Portfolio.com’s Bercovici to DailyFinance

Peter Kafka in Media on May 21, 2009 at 4:20 pm PT

I don’t usually write about writers landing jobs, but I did want to point out that Jeff Bercovici, last seen writing the Mixed Media blog for Portfolio.com, has landed at DailyFinance, a site run by Time Warner’s AOL. Why do I care? Because it’s yet another sign that AOL is continuing to hire experienced writers and reporters to bulk up its sites as other publishers are slimming down or shutting down. And because it’s a nice change of pace from layoff stories.

Time Warner's Jeff Bewkes Lays Off AOL CEO and President–in a New York Minute

Kara Swisher in News on March 12, 2009 at 3:36 pm PT

Let’s just say the firing of AOL CEO Randy Falco and President Ron Grant was not exactly expected–even if everyone thought it should happen–within the high ranks of the troubled online unit, until Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes dropped the guillotine this afternoon in Manhattan. And drop it he did, lopping off the pair of executives Bewkes had installed himself. He replaced them with Tim Armstrong, Google’s head of ad sales, a man with a much brighter resume, for what is likely to be an attempt to spin out AOL now that merger options are moribund. “It’s a shock to everyone how sudden it was,” said one exec, noting that AOL’s top execs had no idea this is coming today. “Everyone talked about when Bewkes was going to run out of patience with Randy and Ron all the time, but no one knew it was coming now, since it had taken so long.”

Rock, Meet Hard Place: More Details of AOL Layoffs–But Are There More to Come?

Kara Swisher in News on March 10, 2009 at 4:49 pm PT

Earlier today, Silicon Alley Insider reported that layoffs at AOL, which had been announced in January, were finally taking place. Actually, said an AOL insider, about 10 percent of the layoffs, or 70 people, have been let go since the announcement. The pace just got ratcheted up today, adding another 300 to the pyre at the troubled Time Warner online division. But, said several sources, the slashing of staff might go well beyond what has been announced. With the ever-weakening economy, there is still fat to be cut out, especially since Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes either has to sell AOL off or make it work a whole lot better. And working better most likely means more cuts–and a whole lot more of them.