Yahoo! Media to Reorg

Just a quick blog on the reported reorg coming at Yahoo!: Boomtown’s Kara Swisher’s got the scoop, and according to her, Yahoo!’s media unit, along with the parent company, will also see some big changes under new CEO Carol Bartz.  

“Under a plan being considered,” writes Swisher, “the media unit will be split into three parts: vertical programming, network programming and search monetization.”

That could mean relocation for many people working at Yahoo!’s Santa Monica campus, with Swisher reporting that “product development for all its major properties–such as News, Sports and Finance–is set to be moved to a central global product development organization at Yahoo’s HQ in Sunnyvale, Calif.”

Answering the question people always ask when these things happen — who’ll be in charge – Swisher says: “U.S. Audience SVP Jeff Dossett will remain overall head of media efforts, but there is a lot of speculation … about who will head the three new media units. But that is still being worked out by Dossett and his boss, U.S. head Hilary Schneider.”

She goes on to say “several inside sources say vertical programming is probably a lock to roll up under current Sports GM Jimmy Pitaro. Former 60 Minutes producer and News GM Neeraj Khemlani seems be the most likely candidate to head network programming. And Tim Mayer–now VP of search monetization and distribution–would probably remain in his job, with perhaps even more monetization duties added.”

We could know how good Swisher’s information is by the end of the week. Can anyone be seriously surprised, after all the sturm und drang at Yahoo! over lo these many months, that now that there’s a new boss in town there’s a massive reorg in the works?