Forgive us if you’ve heard this before, but… Rumors are circulating about who will be the next Time Inc. CEO. According to The New York Post, Jeff Bewkes — CEO of Time Warner — wants to find a replacement for Laura Lang before summer begins, and so some names have been floated:

• David Geithner, executive vice president and group president of the Style & Entertainment Group
• Howard Averill, executive vice president and CFO
• Todd Larsen, executive vice president and group president of the News & Sports Group
• Greg Coleman, a former AOL and HuffPost exec
• Eileen Naughton, VP of global sales at Google

Please bookmark this post so we don’t have to write a “Rumors of new Time Inc. CEO” post again in about a year.

And just like that, it’s over. Time Warner has ended talks with Meredith regarding merging Time Inc. with the Iowa-based company. As a result, Time Inc. will be spun off into a separate, publicly-traded company. The New York Times reports that the first casualty of the division is Laura Lang, who will leave once Time Inc. once the separation is complete.

Yesterday multiple reports emerged that the deal was almost dead. As much as we joked that the deal wouldn’t get done because of Iowa,  that wasn’t the main sticking point. The merger fell through because Meredith didn’t want to take on Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Money because they’re pretty much money pits and don’t fit well with Meredith’s brand. Understandable.

So the biggest media combo to be discussed in quite some time ends not with a roar, but a few boring statements. Stephen Lacy, CEO of Meredith: “We respect Time Warner’s decision and certainly remain open to continuing a dialogue on how our companies might work together on future opportunities.”

Jeff Bewkes, CEO of Time Warner: “After a thorough review of options, we believe that a separation will better position both Time Warner and Time Inc. Time Inc. will also benefit from the flexibility and focus of being a stand-alone company.”

And finally, below is Lang’s memo to Time Inc. staffers.

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Time Inc.’s CEO Laura Lang was supposed to speak at the Paley Center Thursday, but as WWD reports, she pulled out the day before the news broke that Meredith would be buying most of Time Inc.’s brands.

Now we know what you’re thinking: Time yanked Lang to save her the uncomfortableness of discussing 1) How it would feel having Steven Lacy lead “Teredith” instead of her and 2) Why Time Inc. staffers keep making fun of Iowa. But you’d be wrong! A Time spokesperson said Lang was “called out of town” tomorrow and would need to reschedule.

Is that the truth? Let’s see what happens after the deal is done.

Laura Lang, CEO of Time Inc., has finally discussed the Meredith purchase with her staffers. As you know, Meredith is going to purchase Time Inc. and spin it off into a new company. Time Warner will retain Time, Fortune and SI. All the other brands will be swallowed up by the new Meredith/Time Inc. company.

Unsurprisingly, Lang hasn’t had much to offer to her Time Inc. colleagues, aside from general statements that won’t do any good. One insider told the New York Post that Lang was “telling people to keep doing what they are doing and not be distracted.”

We’re sure the publishing house’s staffers will find avoiding distractions easy. Especially with Meredith’s dealmakers back in the Time Inc. building on Wednesday and no one knowing anything about the new company, which some Time staffers have sadly begun calling “Teredith.”

To be fair, there’s really not much Lang could say to calm employees’ nerves. But maybe next time she could try a little something different, like “Don’t worry about anything. By the way, how do you feel about living in Iowa?”

The massive layoffs at Time Inc. that we’ve been hearing about start today. According to Bloomberg News, about 500 people will find themselves out of a job when it’s all said and done. That represents a six percent reduction of the company’s workforce. While 500 is less than originally estimated, it’s still awful news.

“With the significant and ongoing changes in our industry, we must continue to transform our company into one that is leaner, more nimble and more innately multi-platform,” wrote Laura Lang, Time Inc.’s CEO, in a memo. “To make this change, we need to operate as smartly and efficiently as possible to create room for critical investments and new initiatives. These reductions are part of this important transformation process.”

For Lang’s complete note, head over to Jim Romenesko’s site.

Laura Lang, CEO of Time Inc., just dropped the hammer on every employee of the company. The New York Post reports that in a memo to staffers, Lang said none of them — about 8,000 people — will be getting a raise this year.

“While we are evolving, the publishing business in the short term remains challenged,” wrote Lang. “These are unavoidable facts. As we position ourselves for growth in the future we must continue to aggressively manage costs. After much thought and discussion, we have decided we must eliminate the annual merit increase in 2013.”

Those who don’t get raises will probably feel lucky though, because insiders at the publishing house are expecting about 700 staffers to get the axe come February, when Time Warner is due to announce its fourth quarter earnings.

Martha Nelson, an editorial director at Time since 2010, has been promoted to editor-in-chief. Nelson, who assumes the top editorial position next month, becomes only the seventh editor-in-chief in the company’s 90-year history, and the first woman to hold that role at Time.

“This is the most exciting time in our company’s history and I’m thrilled to take on the role of editor-in-chief,” Nelson says. “We have a unique group of powerful brands led by talented and passionate people.  Our commitment to journalistic excellence combined with our drive for innovation makes me confident in our future.”

Nelson has spent 20 years at Time Inc. — launching new franchises, reinvigorating others, and amassing numerous honors along the way, including being named one of the World’s Most Powerful Women three years in a row by Forbes magazine.

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Laura Lang, CEO of Time Inc., just shuffled the deck at the top of the company. According to Adweek, Paul Caine will now be group president as well as chief revenue officer.

David Geithner was also promoted to the top of the company’s Style and Entertainment Group. Geithner will oversee People, In Style and Entertainment Weekly.

Lang directed Todd Larsen, group president of Time’s News and Sports Group, to oversee the company’s international tactics.

Additionally, Fran Hauser — director of digital for the Style and Entertainment Group — was tasked with managing an “innovation lab.”

Fortune has published a list of the 5o most powerful women in business, featuring Marissa Mayer, Yahoo!’s CEO, on the cover. Mayer has the coveted front of the magazine, but on the list she came in at 14th. The most powerful woman in business (at least according to Fortune) is Ginni Rometty, the president and CEO of IBM. Mayer is the youngest on the list though, so that’s… Something.

One thing that stuck out about Fortune’s list? Oprah grabbed the 11th spot last year, but plummeted all the way down to 50th this year. Yikes. Maybe OWN should broadcast Keeping Up With The Kardashians to gain some viewers.

Here’s a quick look at some of the other women in media that made Fortune’s list:

Time Inc. has finally brought all 20 of its consumer magazines to Apple’s Newsstand. Monthly and yearly subscriptions are now available for the iPad version of Time’s brands, including the popular Sports Illustrated, People, Time, Real Simple and Essence. Those who are subscribing to print versions can access the iPad versions for free.

Apple’s Newsstand service is a welcome addition to the Time Inc. magazines, if only for how convenient it is for readers. Laura Lang, CEO of Time Inc., was obviously pleased to announce the digital upgrade.

“It’s an important step toward fulfilling our goal of being everywhere consumers want us to be,” said Lang. “People love reading our digital magazines already on iPad and we are confident we can deliver an even greater consumer experience on Newsstand with digital subscriptions.”