Second-quarter earnings at Time Warner, the world's largest media conglomerate,
dropped by 26%, burdened by declining AOL subscriber fees and sinking publishing advertising revenue. However, the company's cable TV holdings are a
bright spot, showing an 18% Q2 earnings increase.
Meanwhile, fourth-quarter earnings at News Corp., where chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch
announced a hike in the newsstand price of
The Wall Street Journal, increased by 27%. Cablevision, which just
completed its $650 million
Newsday acquisition,
says its board is considering a number of options for rewarding investors.
Also in the media glare:
Playboy sees a second-quarter loss, shortly after its CEO
lectures newspaper owners on how to turn a profit.
Columnist and pundit Bob Novak
retires to fight a brain tumor.
Jim Lehrer, Tom Brokaw, Bob Schieffer, and Gwen Ifill
are picked to host this fall's presidential debates. ABC News, whose moderators Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos were widely criticized after a Democratic debate, was shut out.
Pundit Dana Milbank
leaves MSNBC for CNN,
fights with Keith Olbermann on the way out.
Village Voice Media
plans to launch four national blogs.