Susan Lyne is back with a vengeance. Nine months ago, Disney cleaned house at ABC—and Lyne, who had championed the development of Desperate Housewives and Lost, was axed as entertainment president. Now she faces one of the toughest challenges in corporate America: turning around Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia with limited assistance from the company's founder, who will be released from prison in March. Although Stewart remains under house arrest for five months following her discharge, she intends to help Lyne run the company from her home in Westchester County, N. Y. Lyne, who joined Omnimedia's board in June, was tapped as CEO in November. After advertisers and stations bailed during Stewart's court battles, Omnimedia's stock plummeted. (Omnimedia stock has jumped 57% since Lyne became CEO in November and 200% since she joined the board in June.) Still, she faces a Herculean task: to return the company to profitability. To do it, she'll need to win the trust of advertisers, viewers and shareholders. Yet overseeing Omnimedia is simply the latest chapter in Lyne's 25-year career in publishing, television and film. The veteran exec ran The Village Voice, created Premiere magazine and held several key positions at Disney during her eight-year tenure. Lyne spoke with B&C's Jim Finkle about Martha Stewart's next foray into TV, the launch of Everyday Food on PBS and the real impact of Desperate Housewives.
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