We spoke with the New Yorker’s Ken Auletta, a great guy who we think is the media industry’s most interesting and informed observer. (And the best dresser, by far!) We caught up with him outside the Yale Club in Manhattan.
Ken is perplexed by the lack of enthusiasm from Wall Street for Time Warner. He wonders with all that profitability and great brands why the stock price has languished for so long. He makes a great case, we think.
He also has some words of advice for Time Warner executives: act small. (Maybe the new Netscape undertaking at AOL headed by Jason Calacanis will be a step in the right direction? The New York Times’ Saul Hansell has a really interesting article about this.)
The Beet wonders about all the press about problems and changes at MySpace: Is MySpace a GoodSpace for Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp? Ken spoke about this topic in an earlier post and he framed some important issues.
— Andy Plesser
(Disclosure: Beet.TV employees have no shares in Time Warner)
Other relevant news of interest to The Beet’s readers:
>> The New York Times’ "Deal Book" has a round-up of the latest news about Facebook – including its disputed valuation at $2 billion, and that Interpublic Group is close to an agreement to spend up to $10 million for its clients on Facebook “in exchange” for a 0.5 percent equity stake in the company.
>> The WSJ’s Julia Angwin reports on one way that MySpace is wooing advertisers and capitalizing on the social networking hysteria. (Subscripton required to access article)
>> The WSJ also reports on technology that allows consumers to watch video clips or stream the Internet on their televisions. (Subscription required to access article)
Jason Calacanis,Ken Auletta,Time Warner, MySpace, News Corp. Rupert Murdoch Saul Hansell
