ny, but it required more bandwidth? The deal was for twenty years. Who knew what could develop in that time? Hindery just rolled his eyes and reached for a Krispy Kreme donut. The news conference planned for December I4 in a moment of optimism was postponed for a week in the hope that the negotiators could get over the impasse. Then it was postponed to an early January analyst meeting. When the squabbling continued into the new year, we went ahead with the affiliate announcements and Armstrong per- sonally caucused with Gerry Levin, then Time Warner's chairman and CEO. The two chairmen expressed mutual annoyance with their nego- tiators' inability to see the forest for the trees, agreed to shove them toward the finish line, and shook hands on a conceptual deal that in- cluded the structure of a joint venture, a plan for sharing capital costs, and an initial deployment schedule. Based on Levin and Armstrong's conviction it could all be set out in a definitive agreement within ninety days, we scheduled a full- fledged news conference for February I at our headquarters building on Sixth Avenue in lower Manhattan. By now, we had held SO many news conferences in the small auditorium just off the building lobby that we had had it permanently wired for the network TV cameras. Armstrong and Levin presided over the news conference. When I briefed them in Armstrong's office just before going downstairs, I gave them the now-familiar reminder that they would be surrounded by paparazzi as soon as they stepped off the elevator. "Surrounded by paparazzi?" Levin asked incredulously. "We are the paparazzi." Don't Take Reporters Out on a Limb with You Both the BT and Time Warner announcements were as much about priming the pump as about slaking AT&T's thirst for growth. The Tough Calls joint ventures with BT and Time Warner would demonstrate that AT&T had comprehensive international and domestic strategies. The announcements were designed to create momentum for the company, not only on Wall Street, but also among customers and pot