Press the executives to disclose who's really running the show at the movie, TV, music, publishing and Internet giant. And don't let them get away with merry words that the company is functioning as a big, happy family. By most accounts, it isn't, and that's not entirely surprising.
Power struggles follow just about every major merger.
Yet a lot of folks at AOL Time Warner say privately that they are shocked by how often one-time AOL executives are winning, and Time Warner people are losing, key battles since the companies merged in January. Connoisseurs of corporate power politics are divided on whether the Internet service provider has taken over media's biggest prize, or whether Levin is just waiting for the right moment to reassert his clout. The public has a big stake in the answer. AOL Time Warner is the closest thing we have to a global Ministry of Culture. And AOL executives have less experience than Time Warner's do in wrestling with questions involving their social responsibility.