Jeff Bewkes shows up under New York Magazine’s microscope on Monday, with a seven-page profile of the Time Warner chief executive by former Yale classmate and former New York Daily News gossip columnist Lloyd Grove .

Much of the story offers “color” about Bewkes (who is not quoted here), including this firsthand observation/memory from Grove:

To the callow underclassmen of Yale’s Pierson College , Bewkes was a somewhat romantic figure of countercultural élan-a tad scruffy and artistic-looking in a battered leather jacket and definitely more successful with the opposite sex than we were.

This apparently is a good thing because Bewkes has a full plate of options for boosting shareholder value in the media giant (which Grove describes as suffering from “a lingering post-traumatic stress disorder”). Options include spinning off Time Warner’s cable division or doing the same for publishing unit Time Inc.

One unnamed source quoted by Grove says that Bewkes is “doomed” if he doesn’t do something to right the ship. This might seem like a stretch to some, but Bewkes’s predecessor, Richard Parsons, said something fairly similar on the record. Grove quotes it in the story:

Back in November, Parsons appeared at a VIP conference hosted by the investment firm Quadrangle Group LLC. “If you were Jeff, coming in…” he was asked. “If I were Jeff,” Parsons interrupted, “I would shoot myself.”

Keep an eye on:

• Music company EMI Group Ltd is set to announce plans to lay off as much as one-third of its 6,000 employees, slashing marketing costs and dropping artists as part of a radical restructuring, according to people familiar with the plans. (WSJ)
• Zagat Survey, publisher of the quote-filled restaurant guides, said on Monday that it was exploring strategic opportunities, including a potential sale of the company. (Reuters)
• Apple and China Mobile have called off talks to launch the iPhone in China, dashing investor speculation that the device will hit store shelves soon. (Reuters)
• MySpace and 49 U.S. state attorneys general issued guidelines for protecting children on the Internet with the aim of promoting those principles throughout the industry. (Reuters)