Throughout his tenure, Levin has faced constant peril. Time Warner stock lagged. Investors periodically called for his head. His experiments with interactive entertainment kept blowing up. The worst blow: his son Jonathan’s murder in 1997. But Levin has hung tough. When Time Warner acquired Ted Turner’s business, observers expected Turner to chop Levin off at the knees. Instead the two men forged a peaceful working relationship. Likewise, all parties say Levin and Case have devised a separation-of-powers that will keep Levin at the helm for a few more years. “This is a new phase for me,” Levin told NEWSWEEK, though he sees himself as no less essential than before the deal. “I’m not looking back or looking to make history. I just want to make this work.” There will be many naysayers in the months ahead. Levin plans to make his critics be as wrong in the future as they’ve been in the past.
