MediaGlow

Dear Tim: Here's a Tour of the It-Takes-a-Licking-but-Keeps-on-Ticking AOL Brand

Kara Swisher in News on July 28, 2009 at 12:02 am PT

What’s next for AOL? Reviving the “You’ve Got Mail!” motto? Or: “The Future. Now Available.”–set to music from “The Jetsons”? What about: “So easy to use, no wonder it’s #1!” Or maybe, it should just use a nice loooooooong busy signal as its calling card again? Well, it could happen, now that new CEO Tim Armstrong has fallen prey to the siren call of the AOL brand name, after years of seeing the company wander in the anything-but-the-AOL wilderness. Thus, he’s decided to try to welcome the prodigal brand back home, even as he prepares to spin it off in November from Time Warner. Uh-oh.

AOL Chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong Talks: The 100-Day Check-In!

Kara Swisher in News on July 19, 2009 at 9:00 pm PT

After his 100-day VisionQuest to figure out what to do at AOL, Tim Armstrong is in a chattier mood. So, BoomTown did not waste a New York minute in getting on the horn with him to finally hear his take. There’s not a lot of new stuff to reveal, of course, beyond what Armstrong has already said about AOL’s new direction. That would be a spinoff in November, a focus on advertising, content, local, communications and starting a venture unit. But there is also the question of AOL’s ad deal with Google and more. Here is the interview.

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.

If Yahoo's Going Social, Is Demand Media Back on Its Dance List?

Kara Swisher in News on April 9, 2009 at 3:10 am PT

Last year, Yahoo EVP Hilary Schneider and then-Media Group head Scott Moore had a summery seaside dinner with Demand Media co-founder and CEO Richard Rosenblatt in Santa Monica, Calif., right around the corner from the online publishing company’s HQ. While many speculated that Yahoo could be doing some friendly kibitzing to get a sense of where the eclectic network of general- and special-interest sites was headed, for a possible acquisition, nothing came of it. But now, a year later, with recent indications that a major strategy for new CEO Carol Bartz will finally follow through on making Yahoo’s massive but disparate service more social, especially in its content offerings, several sources close to the company tell me another look-see at Demand is likelier than ever.

Ellis Gets Sales Promotion at AOL's Platform-A

Kara Swisher in News on April 8, 2009 at 5:30 am PT

More moving of the chairs at AOL’s Platform-A. The Time Warner online unit will announce today that Mark Ellis has been promoted to EVP of sales at the advertising division. He will lead Platform-A’s digital ad sales, sources said, including premium efforts at AOL’s MediaGlow content unit and for its third-party ad network. It is all part of extensive management reorganization being done by Platform-A President Greg Coleman, as new CEO and Chairman Tim Armstrong started yesterday in his new job of reviving AOL.

New AOL Chairman and CEO–and About-To-Be-Ex-Googler–Tim Armstrong Speaks!

Kara Swisher in News on March 12, 2009 at 6:42 pm PT

For a tall man, Tim Armstrong has been on an awful lot of online companies’ short lists. For a big Web exec job, that is. Indeed, whenever one opens up in the Internet space, the 6-foot 3-inch Google ad sales exec always pops up on it as a possible candidate to lead a variety of digital companies and start-ups. Finally today–after longtime speculation that Armstrong had long wanted and would eventually leave his post at Google in order to try his hand at being top dog–he took over as chairman and CEO of the once-mighty, but now-not-so-much, AOL. Armstrong, who will start at AOL on April 7, talked to BoomTown this afternoon about his new job.

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.”

AOL Gets a New CEO: Google Sales Boss Tim Armstrong (Plus the Whole Press Release)

Peter Kafka in Media on March 12, 2009 at 2:40 pm PT

Everyone who wondered why Randy Falco and Ron Grant were still running AOL finally got an answer today: Time Warner was lining up their replacement. Google sales chief Tim Armstrong becomes chairman and CEO of the troubled Web property, effective immediately.

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.