Enron to Dissolve Media Unit

NEW YORK — Amid the high profile meltdown of Enron Corp. is the expected demise of a lesser-known unit designed to create a futures market for media buying. Last year, the Houston-based energy-services company, which is seeking bankruptcy protection and fending off federal investigations and several lawsuits, created Enron Media Services to market “price-risk-management” plans to advertisers and media agencies. By entering into long-term agreements with advertisers, networks and media buyers, EMS claimed it could guarantee fixed pricing for media for up to five years, and profit by reselling the media later at the current market price.