Imagine the buzz that must be going on in the editing bays and around the office suites at CNN and ABC News. The parent companies of those two news giants — AOL Time Warner and Walt Disney Corp., respectively— are once again chatting about an arranged marriage. While the moms and pops on both sides seem able to work out the dowries, the kids themselves are still all aflutter about respective roles in the partnership.

It’s a sign of the times as news operations of all types collide with economic realities, not the least of which is the need for public companies to meet shareholder expectations.

Talks between the two have been on again, off again, The New York Times last week (Sept. 26) reported the companies “reached a new level of seriousness about three weeks ago, only to founder over questions about the size of each side’s stake in the possible joint venture and the degree of each side’s editorial control over its news.” And the LA Times was reporting a new round of talks, now “moved to the highest level.” Still, no deal is imminent.

The plan now under consideration by the AOL Time Warner board of directors calls for spinning off CNN and ABC News into a separate company. CNN would be the master of the house with a three-quarter stake in what would be a company with projected revenue of more than $1.6 billion. The rationale is that as a combined company, the two would cut costs by up to $200 million a year, generating higher profits for both parent companies, said the LA Times.

“Any deal would be rife with complications and serious ramifications for the television news business. CNN’s salaries are markedly lower than those at ABC News, which built its celebrated stable of editorial employees over three decades partly by paying staffers handsomely. As budget pressures have mounted in the last year, ABC News has been asking correspondents, anchors and producers to accept salary cuts,” the newspaper reported.

Inquiring employees want to know just whose editorial judgments will prevail, especially since they have greatly differing styles of news presentation.

Will Barbara Walters and Peter Jennings host shows under the CNN banner? Will CNN abandon its Atlanta home? By the time they work out the questions, will viewers be able to see actual people behind the onscreen crawlers. Stay tuned for the next exciting episode!