Jim Trippon, CPA

Media giant Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), buoyed by strength in its film and network businesses, reported a fourth-quarter profit after reporting a loss in the year-earlier period, beating analyst estimates along the way. For income investors, the good news comes in the form of Time Warner boosting its quarterly dividend by 13% to 21.25 cents a share.

Time Warner paid a dividend of 18.8 cents a share in the third quarter and the shares currently yield 2.7%. Based on the new payout, Time Warner would yield about 3.07%.

The earnings report was Time Warner's first following the spin-off the AOL business and the company said it expects 2010 earnings to grow in the "mid-teens." Analysts are forecasting a 16% increase in 2010 earnings to $2.12 a share.

The news from Time Warner follows an announcement from rival News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWS), which said on Tuesday it would boost dividends on its Class A and Class B shares by 25% to 7.5 cents a share. That represents a yield of 1.1% on the Class A shares. News Corp. pays its dividend on a semiannual basis.

On Tuesday, News Corp. said it posted a fiscal second-quarter profit after enduring a loss in the year-earlier period. The company showed revenue growth across all its operating divisions except for the business that runs the popular MySpace social network.

The media sector isn't exactly laden with high yielders, but it is worth noting that Time Warner offers a superior payout and yield to News Corp. and Wal Disney (NYSE: DIS), which only yields 1.2%.