In your frostbitten Wednesday media column: Time Warner burns billions, the Daily Beast loses luster, alt-weeklies miraculously manage, and more!

Media earnings news: Time Warner posted write-down losses of more than $24 billion in the fourth quarter, thanks to plummeting values at its cable and magazine businesses, and at AOL. 1,250 layoffs TK. And Disney's disappointing earnings this quarter made its stock sink further today. But Bob Iger found a shiny nickel on the sidewalk!


The Washington Post will no longer pay employees extra for things like online chats, videos, and blogs. Eh.

The Daily Beast started out really strong! Now traffic is down. But Tina Brown still has millions of dollars to burn before they think about folding, so have no fear! This whole situation gives Michael Wolff an excuse to give triumphal quotes. For some reason!


Oh, we've located a sector of the media that's not doing horrendously: locally owned alt-weeklies in small markets. Congratulations to them! In contrast, the Village Voice is a non-locally owned alt-weekly in a large market, and we hear that there was a manhole cover explosion outside its offices today. This is all connected.



A tipster sends us this screen grab to point out: the LA Times now has no compunction about letting the New York Times plant ads all over its site. Where's yer ballz, Zell?!?!