Time Warner Settles Fraud Charges with Justice Department
Update: Time Warner Inc. has agreed to pay $210 million to settle securities fraud charges involving the company's America Online unit, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

Under terms of the settlement with the DOJ, prosecution on charges of aiding and abetting securities fraud will be deferred for two years provided that the media giant cooperates in an ongoing investigation into whether AOL improperly helped smaller Internet companies artificially inflate their earnings.

The settlement, however, does not apply to a separate investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission into alleged accounting irregularities at AOL. Time Warner has agreed to a separate settlement of $300 million for those allegations. The SEC's five commissioners still need to approve the deal.

The proposed settlement with the SEC would resolve an investigation by the securities watchdog into whether AOL improperly accounted for a $400 million payment from the German media company Bertelsmann AG, which used to own 50 percent of AOL Europe, and whether that was used to inflate America Online profits. (12/15/04)

AOL Time Warner Reports $45 Billion Loss; Turner Steps Down
Update: AOL Time Warner announced Wednesday it was reporting a $45.5 billion quarterly loss to account for the declining value of its flagship America Online property -- bringing the company to post an annual loss of nearly $100 billion, the largest annual loss ever in corporate history. (1/30/03)

Real Audio: Paul Solman examines the story behind the media behemoth's fall.

AOL Time Warner Chief Executive Dick Parsons Tapped as New Chairman
Update: AOL Time Warner's board of directors unanimously elected Chief Executive Dick Parsons to become the company's next chairman, replacing Steve Case who announced his resignation four days ago. (1/16/03)

AOL Time Warner Chairman Steve Case to Resign
Update: Steve Case, the media chief who helped engineer the corporate marriage of AOL and Time Warner two years ago, announces he will step down as chairman of the merged corporation, saying his departure was "in the best interest of the company."

Media correspondent Terence Smith discusses Case's resignation and the future prospects for AOL Time Warner with Nina Munk, contributing editor of Vanity Fair, and Tom Wolzien, a senior media analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein and Co. (1/13/03)

Justice Dept. Opens Inquiry into AOL Time Warner
Update: AOL Time Warner confirms that the Justice Department is investigating the accounting practices of its online division. (7/31/02)

Government Investigates AOL Time Warner Accounting
Update: AOL Time Warner discloses that the Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an investigation into accounting practices at its America Online division. (7/25/02)

Is the Marriage in Trouble?
With the ouster of AOL Time Warner's Chief Operating Officer Robert Pittman, the fate of the largest media company in history seems in doubt.

Margaret Warner looks at the crisis facing corporate giant AOL Time Warner with Bill Whyman, technology analyst and president of the Precursor Group, an investment research firm; and Jeffrey Rayport, CEO of Marketspace and former professor at Harvard Business School. (7/19/02)

PAST COVERAGE
A Look Back: The Masters of the Megamerger
The leaders of America Online and Time Warner talk about leading the largest corporate merger in history. (1/12/00)

The FCC's William Kennard on the AOL-Time Warner Merger
The FCC Chairman discusses his agency's approval of the $106 billion America Online/Time Warner deal. (1/12/01)

FCC Gives AOL/Time Warner Merger Conditional Approval
Update: The FCC votes to approve America Online's acquisition of Time Warner, giving its nod to the creation of the largest U.S. media company. (1/11/01)
RealAudio: FCC Chairman William Kennard announces the AOL/Time Warner merger has been approved. (1/11/01)

Media Megamerger
A Federal Trade Commission lawyer and two industry watchers discuss what the America Online/Time Warner merger could mean for the Internet and other developing technologies. (12/15/00)

FTC Approves AOL/Time Warner Merger
Update: With the Federal Trade Commission's approval in hand, AOL and Time Warner come one step closer to completing the biggest merger in US history. (12/14/00)

Robert Pitofsky
The FTC Chairman discusses the merger's potential effect on developing technologies. (12/14/00)
Audio (full speech) | Video clip

Richard Parker
The director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition explains how the merged companies would encourage competition. (12/14/00)
Audio (full speech) | Video clip

AOL, Time Warner Merger Announced
Four experts discuss the $166 billion merger of America Online with Time Warner. (1/10/00)