Time Warner CEO doesn't rule out political career

By Kenneth Li

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Richard Parsons, chief executive and chairman of Time Warner Inc., does not rule out a career in politics, but said on Tuesday he remained focused for now on running the world's largest media company.

Parsons, 58, has repeatedly been the target of speculation that he planned to run for mayor of New York, succeeding Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire founder of financial news and information company Bloomberg LP.

"Why would I rule that out?" Parsons said at the Reuters Media Summit in New York, when asked whether he would put to rest persistent rumors that he would return to politics.

"Currently, I don't have any plans to do that," he said, responding to a direct question about any post-Time Warner political ambitions. "My focus is really on completing the journey with Time Warner."

Parsons' employment contract at Time Warner ends in May 2008. Management has identified Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Bewkes as a likely candidate to succeed Parsons, although the final decision remains with the board of directors.

A fresh round of speculation on Parsons' political ambitions was ignited after he was named in November to join New York Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer's transition committee.

"I don't know how these things start," Parsons said. He added, "Once they start, you seemingly can't get them back in the bottle."

Parsons is widely credited with stabilizing a company once rife with corporate infighting following AOL's 2001 buyout of Time Warner. He also has a long history in U.S. politics as counsel for former New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and as a senior White House aide under former President Gerald Ford.

In an interview with Reuters Television on Tuesday, Parsons said, "I have an interest in kids and education. It would be interesting to see what the opportunities are there."

Rumors of a return to politics have dogged Parsons for decades.

"This has been either my fate or challenge for 30 years, ever since I got out of government," he said at the summit. "Back when I was running a bank, everyone was speculating, 'Well he's just hanging around waiting for his moment.'"

Parsons sketched a more peaceful future for life after Time Warner. "I would like to take a little time off just to sort of spend some time with my wife and, as they say on the block, chill a bit, and then evaluate what comes next," he told Reuters Television.

(For more coverage of the Reuters Media Summit, please see our

MediaFile blog at blogs.reuters.com/mediafile)

(Additional reporting by Michele Gershberg)