Finding a way to put the genie back in the bottle

Ann Moore, the CEO of Time Inc. has asked one of her senior executives to "put the genie back in the bottle". A memorandum to employees, published by Folio: says that John Squires, the executive vice-president, has been given a summer job to find the right digital business model for the future.

While print magazines are not going away, and while we have built vibrant websites with over 26 million unique visitors and 750 million pages views each month, it’s increasingly clear that finding the right digital business model is crucial for the future of our business. We need to develop a strategy for the portable digital world and to refine our views on paid content.

She told staff that the company is pursuing four, related initiatives:

1. Evolving current website businesses by identifying and developing consumer revenue streams.
2. Accelerating the creation of applications for smartphone platforms.
3. Developing new products and business models for portable digital readers.
4. Exploring partnerships with other publishers to develop the optimal retail store for digital products.