Who is Time Warner and What do They Stand For?

I will be updating this blog weekly with the latest news about Time Warner. I chose to keep a blog about this company because I would like to pursue a career at Time Warner when I graduate. Over the summer I completed an internship in the public relations department of PEOPLE magazine at Time Inc., which is a division of Time Warner. My internship was an amazing experience that left me with a love for not only the magazine, but the company as a whole. I think keeping a blog about the current operations of the company is a great way to keep track of what Time Warner is doing in order to prepare me for seeking a career within the company.

Time Warner is a leading media and entertainment company whose businesses include interactive services, cable systems, filmed entertainment, television networks, and publishing. To read more about the company take a peek at the company's website here:http://www.timewarner.com/corp/aboutus/our_company.html I think Time Warner has been successful in carving out an identity that makes it stand out amongst other entertainment companies. Every Time Warner brand is the most successful in their categories and pride themselves on excellence. You can read more details about each brand in the handy dandy fact sheets provided on the company website here: http://www.timewarner.com/corp/businesses/index.html Time Warner details the values and principles the company prides itself on here: http://www.timewarner.com/corp/aboutus/mission_values.html I think most people expect only the best from Time Warner divisions because of this identity it has established. I think Time Warner’s reputation has both positive and negative attributes. Time Warner has a reputation for being a company that is committed to providing enjoyable entertainment and high-performance services. However, I think people also see Time Warner as a sort of large company dominating the industry and stepping on the smaller entertainment companies. My experience interning at the company proved to me that this negative side to their reputation is not true and I hope that I can demonstrate this in my blog.

In order to emphasize the positive aspects of their reputation, Time Warner publicizes achievements and financial earnings on both their website and in the news. You can access Time Warner's newsroom on the company website here: http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom I think their open policy with the media is partly responsible for their reputation. In addition, they host many events to celebrate their successes with the public and their employees. The company also makes an effort to minimize the negative aspects of their reputation by emphasizing their community service to prove they are not only concerned with the success of their company, but also their community. The company honors its employees for outstanding individual contributions to the community and public service. Time Warner hosts events at which these employees are honored in order to generate publicity about the efforts the company is making to serve the community.

I think a large obstacle that exits for the PR people in their effort to improve the company’s reputation is the large amount of layoffs PEOPLE magazine experienced last year. This Time Warner brand let go of 300 employees in order to concentrate more of their budget toward improving their website. I believe this affected the reputation of Time Warner because people become concerned that this could happen at another branch of the company. I think it is a challenge for the PR people to prove Time Warner cares about its employees and would not have made this decision if it was not necessary. I think an opportunity for the PR people in improving the company’s reputation is the increasing popularity of the entertainment industry in our culture. Americans donate so much of their time toward entertainment and are always looking for changes and improvements in the industry.