Eventually, Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) will just be Warner Brothers, HBO, and Turner Networks, says Gordon Crawford, managing director of The Capital Group.

Why does this guy's opinion matter? Well, his company is Time Warner's biggest shareholder. He sees the coming divestiture of AOL (to which BloggingStocks belongs) as part of a broader effort that will eventually include the sale of its print division.

Time Warner Inc.'s (NYSE: TWX) new Chief Executive Jeffrey Bewkes will have plenty to talk about when the world's largest media conglomerate -- and parent of BloggingStocks -- reports fourth quarter results tomorrow.

The results themselves aren't going to be anything spectacular. Analysts expect earnings of 29 cents on revenue of $12.64 billion, according to Thomson Financial. As usual, the focus will be on AOL, in particular how much gains in advertising offset the declines in the dial-up business. Also, the company will need to detail its plans for the cable business which may be hurt by an economic slowdown. The future of the publishing business also remains in doubt as advertisers continue to flee print for online media.

Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) only adds to the confusion. Will investors give Bewkes enough time to transform AOL's business to an ad-supported model? The strategy is the correct one though it was initiated about two years too late. But given the premium that Microsoft is offering for Yahoo, investors are bound to pressure Bewkes to make a similar deal for AOL, which today bought the online marketing company buy.at.

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) posted earnings per share of 29 cents after items, but on a normalized basis the company's earnings were 24 cents. Revenue was $11.68 billion. First Call estimates were for earnings of 24 cents on revenue of $11.36 billion.

As far as how this compares, it really seems like the results were better than expected. Adjusted Operating Income before Depreciation and Amortization climbed 15% to $3.2 billion, reflecting double-digit increases in the Cable, Filmed Entertainment and Publishing segments, as well as a gain at the Networks segment. This growth was offset partly by a decline at AOL. Operating Income was up 29% to $2.1 billion.

Time Warner continued its aggressive share buyback. As of November 6, 2007, the company has repurchased approximately 119 million shares for approximately $2.2 billion since its $5 billion program was announced on August 1. At existing prices, the company expects to complete at least half of the program by the time the time it reports its 2007 full-year and fourth-quarter results.

Early indications for Time Inc., the magazine division of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX), would seem to say that the fourth quarter is not going to be a barn burner. The Publisher's Information Bureau has announced figures for October 2006.

Time Inc.'s large weeklies did not do much during the month. For the year to date, People's ad revenue is up only 3.8% to $702.9 million on an ad page decrease of 1.8% for the period to 3,023. The numbers at Sports Illustrated were slightly worse. Ad revenue fell .1% to $505.6 million. Ad pages dropped 1.9% to 1,664. At the flagship, Time magazine showed an ad revenue increase of 4.9% to $512.2 million on a page increase of 2% to 1,793.

The magazines at the next level down did not do terribly well. Entertainment Weekly's ad revenue dropped 2.9% for the first ten months of the year to $189.8 million on an ad page fall-off of 7.3% to 1,347. Fortune's ad revenue is down 2.3% to $244.6 million on a drop of 4.3% in ad pages to 2,343. In Style's ad revenue rose 5.5% to $332.5 million. Ad pages fell .1% to 2,826.

For all magazines measured by PIB, the first ten months of revenue rose 4.1% and pages were up .4%. Not much to write home about for Time Inc. or the industry.

Douglas McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Time, Inc. today announced that it would seek buyers for a number of its small magazine, according to a report from the Associated Press. Eighteen magazines will be put on the block. These would include Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, and Yachting.

It has long been assumed that the large titles at Time, Inc., especially the weeklies, Time, Sports Illustrated, and People, generate the huge majority of the unit's operating income, although the company does not break this out. The balance of the magazines continue to require management attention and facilities for housing staff, but are unlikely to be a significant factor at the bottom line due to their much smaller circulations and advertising revenues.

The move reflects the new Time Warner corporate philosophy of focusing on properties that have the potential to drive operating income to push up margins.

Time Warner's stock was up .7% to $17.02, primarily in trading after 3 p.m.

One of the issues that Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) faces as it tries to improve margins is the bias against cutting editorial costs at well-known media properties. The Grahams face the same issue at The Washington Post Company (NYSE:WPO) and the Sulzbergers are up against the same wall at The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT). Fortunately for the Washington Post, most of its revenues now come from its online education businesses, like Kaplan. Lucky for them.

For decades big, widely distributed editorial operations have been viewed as something of a public trust. Even some of the network news operations fell into this category until Bill Paley died. Then Larry Tisch came in and cut with a vengeance. Entire editorial bureaus were closed.

From the time that Henry Luce and his partners started Time Magazine in 1923 until Life Magazine was closed in 1972, Time, Inc. did not shutter any of its major publications. If Luce had not died in 1967, Life may have survived.

At companies where editorial standards are a bit more "flexible," cutting is no big deal. Dean Singleton has made a career of buying large city dailies and cutting their costs, including newsrooms, to the bone. He has purchased newspapers in markets as large as Dallas, Denver, and Oakland. If the papers do not make money, he closes them.

Time Magazine, Newsweek, The New York Times, and The Washington Post are institutions with lives that are measured as much in reputation as they are in economic success. And it is probably less popular with the press when their brethren are let go than it is with, say, auto workers. And there is nothing amiss with looking out for your own.

It is almost inevitable that Parsons & Co. are looking at the number of bureaus that Time has, and the number of senior editors, as well as the number of writers at People and Sports Illustrated. Why? Because these magazines, perhaps with the exception of the gossip found in People, are no longer the primary source of news. They may have been twenty years ago, or even ten. But that rationale has lost its teeth.

While it is hard to say that anything is inevitable, the clash of the dropping margins at Time, Inc. and the large editorial staffs at the magazine is coming. And if shareholder pressure keeps up, it may come soon.