Jeff Weiner to take top Yahoo job?

Remember how Yahoo launched an external search for an "experienced executive" to revamp its content and services such as email? Just last week, on Yahoo's quarterly earnings call, chief executive Terry Semel said he'd met with some "fabulous" candidates. Not fabulous enough, apparently. Word is that the company's tapped Jeff Weiner, who led its inhouse search engine development. It's not a dumb move: Weiner's web-savvy, and generally well-respected within the organization. But, if the rumor is true, why on earth didn't Semel just appoint him back during Yahoo's big reorg in December? The 64-year-old Yahoo boss should have known it would be difficult to attract an outstanding external candidate while Yahoo's future remains so uncertain. As it is, Yahoo's great overhaul boils down to this: the departure of Dan Rosensweig; a division of his responsibilities between two other execs, Sue Decker and Jeff Weiner; and the renaming of product management, now the "audience" group. Like that's going to narrow Google's lead in the internet media market. The most significant impact? Four months of management confusion.

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