Eideard

Daylife/AP Photo by Paul Sakuma

One year from now, almost to the day, will be the 10th anniversary of the announcement of what could be the worst corporate marriage in history, the union of America Online and Time Warner.

And still the effects are being sifted.

The latest blow came in the form of a $25 billion write-down by Time Warner to reflect the declining value of AOL. That came alongside worse, but just as familiar, news: that the performance of AOL and Time Inc., the company’s other ailing arm, which publishes magazines like Fortune, Time and Sports Illustrated, is weak and will result in worse-than-expected earnings at the company when it reports 2008 numbers Feb. 4.

AOL and Time Inc. have been twin encumbrances for some time; before Wednesday, Time Warner had already taken more than $100 billion in write-downs to reflect the steady erosion of value at AOL. The corporate narrative that is Time Warner recalls the film “Groundhog Day” – an endless loop of the same story, over and over…

For years, the clause that followed the words Time Warner in print was invariably “the nation’s largest media company.” Advertising Age, the trade publication, says it has ranked Time Warner the biggest media company in the United States since 1995. But last week it said that Time Warner would become No. 2 to Comcast after it completed the spinoff of its cable unit.

If Bewkes can find a way to slough off AOL and maybe even the magazine business, it will become smaller.

I can find little to say that’s encouraging or even palliative. I think Time-Warner has done more to destroy journalism in the United States than anyone this side of Ed Gaylord.