Time Inc plots a future beyond its heyday as suitors line up

Company's new CEO Rich Battista's zeal, however, may not be enough to save the empire

Onstage at a recent industry conference with the long-time leaders of the country’s biggest magazine publishers, Rich Battista, the new chief executive of Time Inc, did not seem the outsider. Tieless, with legs crossed, he ticked off his company’s latest accomplishments — robust digital growth, updated advertising capabilities — with the swagger of a knowing publishing chieftain.

“There’s something really exciting happening at our company,” he said, echoing what had become something of a rallying cry at Time Inc. “We’re taking our brand to really exciting new places.”

A former television executive, Battista, 52, has been charged with revitalising the most storied