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You might say the AOL-Time Warner merger has gone over well with the troops at Time Warner. That’s because more than 1,000 of the 12,000 employees suddenly found their stock in the company to be worth more than $1 million. Standing to benefit the most were those who have been with the company since Time Inc. and Warner Bros. merged in 1990. However, even senior editors and publishers who’ve been around as little as three years are likely to reap $1 million from the deal, reports New York Post. Wearing some of the biggest smiles are Time Inc. editor-in-chief Norman Pearlstine, Time managing editor Walter Isaacson, and corporate editorial director Henry Muller. AOL Time Warner’s next problem: What to do when a thousand people try to retire at once.
Kelley inks contract with Fox for $300 million
Speaking of millionaires, producer David E.
Kelley has signed a contract with 20th Century Fox Television that could make
him the best-paid TV producer ever. The deal, which is modeled on pro-athletes’
contracts, could earn Kelley more than $300 million over the course of six years. Much of
the money would be in the form of incentives and bonuses, as well as an unprecedented 50
percent cut of the back-end money for syndicated series. This arrangement ensures that Fox
will only have to pay Kelley the big money if he continues to spawn hits. The man behind
"Ally McBeal" and "The Practice," Kelley has only to keep doing what
he’s been doing to earn astronomical riches. But nobody’s flop-proof, as the
short-lived "Snoops" will attest. If Kelley hits a dry patch, he’s going to
kick himself for deciding against a more traditional, if less audacious, contract.
Proposed postal hike has publishers
fuming
Magazine and newspaper publishers are up in arms over a proposed postal rate increase for
2001. Though the price of a first class stamp would only rise by a penny, magazine
publishers would pay 14 percent more and newspaper publishers 9 percent more to ship their
products. The Magazine Publishers of America has decried the increase, saying it would
cost the industry as much as $300 million, possibly necessitating increases in cover and
subscription prices. The Newspaper Association of America has also condemned the measure,
which includes a proposed decrease for advertising mailings to consumers. The Postal Rate
Commission will have until November to make its final decision. In that time, periodical
publishers will doubtless continue to push for an increase closer to the 6 percent hike
the industry was expecting.
TheStreet.com drops fee for most sites
As more evidence that full-subscription models are hard to
support on the web, TheStreet.com has announced that it will now offer some of its
financial news and information for free. Previously, users had to pay $100 a year for
access to TheStreet.com. Under the new scheme, TheStreet.com will sit, for free, at the
center of a hub of paid sites plus one additional free community site. Commentary and
analysis previously found on the subscription version of TheStreet.com will be available
for a $200 annual fee at a new site called RealMoney.com. Some of this commentary will be
in quote-unquote "real time." Other paid sites to be launched will be
TheStreetPros.com and ipoPros.com. TheStreet.com was co-founded by James Cramer and Marty
Peretz.