Re: Sumner Boots Mel

["Dan Strassberg" <dan.strassberg@att.net>]

You aren't naive enough, are you, to believe that if Sumner found someone
who wasn't a street fighter he wouldn't find some other reason for letting
the new guy go after the honeymoon ended? It's obvious that Redstone has
decided that the he will leave his company only when he is carried from the
offices in a pine box. By his repeated actions, he has made it quite plain
that he really doesn't give a damn about preserving shareholder value after
he dies. I don't know whether Sumner owns or controls so much Viacom stock
that he can block any move by the directors to oust him. If he is not in
that position, then the directors, as the the shareholders' representatives,
have a fiduciary responsibility to get him the hell out. If they fail to at
least make the effort, I believe that the board risks shareholder lawsuits
for breach of fiduciary responsibility. I'm no fan of Mel's, and as an old
guy myself, I feel a certain sympathy toward Redstone. But he's had his
chances to look after the ongoing well-being of his company and his attitude
is clearly "apres moi, le deluge."

BTW, to make it clear, I do not now, nor have I ever had any financial
interest in Viacom or in any company that Viacom has acquired, or in any
competitor of Viacom's, or in any competitor of companies acquired by
Viacom.

--
Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net
617-558-4205, eFax 707-215-6367

----- Original Message -----
From: A. Joseph Ross <lawyer@attorneyross.com>
To: <bri@bostonradio.org>; Donna Halper <dlh@donnahalper.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 02, 2002 1:12 AM
Subject: Re: Sumner Boots Mel


> Then again, it sounds like his street-fighter management style is why
> Redstone wants to let him go.
>