The AOL Time Warner board will take up a proposal to drop the "AOL" from the company name, according to a report from the Associated Press. The move was initiated by AOL division head Jonathan Miller to restore the 'Net business's brand identity. AP reports that Miller implored CEO Richard Parsons to drop AOL from Time Warner, and that in an August memo to his staff, Miller bemoaned the notion that AOL had become shorthand for the entire conglomerate rather than the business unit.
The button-down executives of the old Time Warner television and publishing regime have long rankled at being identified by the Internet side of the business. AOL bought Time Warner in January of 2000 with mostly stock that promptly tanked in the Internet bust. AOL has since experienced sinking advertising revenue, subscriber declines and scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
