When America Online and Time Warner announced their merger in January 2000, at the height of the Internet boom, this mega-marriage of new technology and old media was enthusiastically received. The world's biggest online service was expected to inject its 'Internet DNA' into the stodgy media giant. Together they -would come up with all sorts of lucrative synergies and 'cross-fertilization'. Even the Economist was excited: 'For once, the superlatives and the hype seem justified,' we opinioned.