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AOL Time Warner's Case to stand down in May
By Financial Times reporters in New York
Published: January 12 2003 23:52 | Last Updated: January 12 2003 23:52

Steve Case, chairman of AOL Time Warner, announced that he would resign from his post in May at the US media giant's annual shareholder meeting.

Although the timing of Mr Case's departure was a surprise, his exit had been increasingly exoected due to growing discontent with him both from within the New York-based media company and shareholders.

Criticism focused on his position as the former head of America Online, which had a big enough share price to acquire Time Warner two years ago but has since been a drag on the business. The AOL business is braced for a 50 per cent drop in advertising and e-commerce revenue in 2003.

Mr Case, who told CEO Dick Parsons of his intentions at the weekend, will remain a director and will continue to co-chair the company's strategy committee.

He said in a statement: "This decision was personally very difficult for me, as I would love to serve as chairman of this great company for years to come, and as an architect of the merger I have felt it was important that I stay the course a chairman and help get things on track."

Shares of AOL Time Warner, which have more than halved in the last year, closed up 3 per cent at $14.88 on Friday.

...closed up 3 per cent at $14.88 on Friday...

Hope this is great news, tried to get my wife to agree to sell 800 shares in the $90 range. She would not allow me to sell her AOL...

I think that alll FReepers should buy and sign up for AOL tomorrow. That would drive up the stock and I could get out with out even loosing even more money.

I sorry about the vanity, but I use a cable modem after moving from AOL. They do suck.

Of course she also covets WCOM, VIGN, 3COM, EGGS, RYO, USTL, CPQ and DELL.

It was a First Amendment issue for a lot of people. That and the arrogant service did them in. Along about the time they merged, I realized that virtually every empty-headed liberal I knew was an AOL subscriber. Virtually none of my more thoughtful centrist and conservative friends are. Consumers are far more savvy (of course) and aware of the political aspects to all this than these liberal, money-grubbing bozos ever realized. People did not want to subscribe to an Clinton-friendly, Ted Turner internet company whose ulitmate aim - we feared - was to control content. We already KNOW they would LOVE to shut down talk radio if they could.