AtNewYork: Primedia CEO Shown the Door

Tom Rogers, CEO of Primedia, responsible for much of the company's money-losing Internet acquisitions, has quit over "differences regarding the future direction of the company."

The departure of Rogers comes at a time when the online/offline publishing giant has been busy selling off many unprofitable units and mulling the sale of its flagship title Seventeen.

Controlling shareholder Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), was reportedly unhappy with the returns on many Internet-focused acquisitions signed off by Rogers, including the whopping $690 million deal for About.com, a transaction that Rogers described as the "transformation" of Primedia's publishing operations.

Yeah, that About.com acquisition was one of those really hair-brained late-90s insanity deals.