Gilead has the cure for Hepatitis C (HCV) known as Sofosbuvir, which is taken alone or in combination with other drugs. Now we need a cure for Gilead. The lives of 5 million HCV-infected Americans and an estimated 160 million HCV-infected people worldwide are at stake.

It's time for Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, Turner CEO John Martin, and CNN President Jeff Zucker, to find their way out of this mess.

Bewkes and Martin seem to be following the traditional trail of MBAs -- cut costs, put lipstick on the pig, dress it up and sell it for as much money as you can get and let the buyer worry about the future.

MSNBC ratings have been declining for a while, and CNN has been making slight gains in its audience size. Now is not the time to begin "reducing spending," certainly not if you're trying to maximize "growth and profitability."

I viewed Bukowski as only doing a limited shtick -- he rarely came into the office himself, but I knew all about him because my friend Judy Lewellen, the city editor, used to go pick up the column. I guess I hadn't understood how popular Bukowski was getting until I was confronted by a book display in London.

I believe that it will take a lot of news intelligence and creativity to turn CNN around. Cutting costs and firing guys will not do it.