Former EIC Constance C.R. White with Viola Davis in front of her 2011 Essence cover. (Photo by Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup) via AP IMAGES

Word on the street is Time Warner is in talks to sell many of the publications operated by Time Inc., to the possible tune of $2.5 billion. Time Inc. is the country’s largest magazine publisher. Forbes magazine breaks down some of the dollars and cents, but here’s a sample:

-People is the company’s “most profitable title” — and possibly the most profitable magazine in the world — with $997 million in ad revenue last year.

-People en Espanol and People Style Watch are drive almost 25 percent of Time Inc.’s revenue.

-TIME, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune account for about 28 percent of revenue.

-It’s been rumored that Entertainment Weekly could be closing.

-Essence is also a Time Inc. title, and it just lost a number of high-level editors to job cuts, including editor-in-chief Constance C.R. White.

Among the rumored buyers are Warren Buffett, who just today announced that he’d be buying food and condiment company Heinz. Fortune says that Meredith, which publishes Family Circle and Ladies’ Home Journal is the prime purchasing candidate. Forbes says that People wouldn’t be part of the deal.

Poynter.org says that the fate of Essence is TBD. The site says that competitors like Ebony are making moves. And writer Tamara Jeffries, a former Essence staffer, says she’s been of the opinion that Time Inc. didn’t know what to do with the title.

“And here’s the problem: Essence was never a mass product. Essence was a religion. Black women bought it, read it, saved it, shared it,” Jeffries writes. “To keep Essence essential, Time Inc. or a new parent company will need to understand how to do religion as well as it knows how to do magazines.” She thinks Meredith would be a good match.

Fortune says that revenue for the magazine division are down 6.6 percent, which is a “drag” for the parent company.

With relation to the aforementioned layoffs, Time Warner CEO Laura Lang said in a memo on January 30 (via Fortune), “[W]e must continue to transform our company into one that is leaner, more nimble and more innately multi-platform.” The company plans to cut six percent of its staff.

The move to sell the division follows in News Corp.’s footsteps, which split its publishing division from the rest of the company last year because of the smaller numbers it brings in.

Reports say Sean “Diddy” Combs is expanding his empire with plans to launch a music-themed cable network reminiscent of the old MTV but for an African American audience. So basically a new BET, right?

The channel, called Revolt, is expected to launch 12/12/12 and is being promoted as a music and music news channel with an urban skew, and sources say the venture which former MTV programming chief Andy Schuon is involved with is well funded. Comcast will provide distribution as part of its commitment to the FCC to help launch minority owned networks. The company plans to launch 10 channels over the next eight years, including eight Hispanic or African American owned ones.

A Comcast rep didn’t confirm Diddy’s involvement but he said the company hopes to make an announcement soon. Previously, Comcast did announce plans to launch an African American-owned channel by January of 2013 so Revolt could definitely be it. Time Warner is also expected to get in on the distribution which means Revolt could land in 18 millions homes when it launches.

It will be interesting to see what the Bad Boy can do with TV.

What do you think about Diddy and this new Revolt channel? Could it be good for African American media?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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