Media Roundup: Time Warner Posts Write Down, Boston Globe Sells Front Page Ads And More

Time Warner posts $25 billion write down -- In a surprise move, the media giant released a profit warning yesterday suggesting a loss that would be the company's first in six years. The announcement included, among other things, an 18 percent year-over-year decline in online advertising revenue at AOL. [Source: Portfolio]

The Boston Globe to sell front page ads -- Much like sister publication The New York Times, The Boston Globe will begin selling advertising space on the front page. The size, price and location of the ad are still being worked out. [Source: Boston Globe]

ABC to use BBC reporters in Iraq -- ABC will reduce its full time Iraq staff to three while heavily relying on BBC employees for day-to-day reports inside the country. ABC will continue to report on major stories in the area, such as elections, and will keep its Baghdad bureau. [Source: Hollywood Reporter]

Despite rumors, EW will continue to print -- Amidst falling profit margins, Entertainment Weekly has renewed its commitment to run a print edition. The magazine believes that job cuts and a staff sharing agreement will keep the magazine in the black. There had been previous speculation that EW would move to an online-only publication this year. [Source: Gawker]

Yahoo for sale ... again -- An unnamed group of investors are set to make a run at search company Yahoo! with debt backing from Microsoft. The deal would be ideal for Microsoft, as they can pick and choose what components of Yahoo to manage while leaving the other parts of the company as independent entities. [Source: TechCrunch]

Google will not bailout newspapers -- In an interview with Fortune magazine, Google CEO Eric Schmidt expressed sympathy and concern for the plight of newspapers, but stopped short of offering any financial relief. Schmidt believes that any Google buyout would not solve the "underlying problem in the business." [Source: Fortune]