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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

There has been a shakeup [npr.org] at the media giant Viacom [wikipedia.org]:

Media mogul Sumner Redstone has moved to replace five board members of Viacom Inc., including the chairman and CEO whom he has considered a surrogate son. A statement from Redstone's National Amusements, Inc. [nationalamusements.com] – Viacom's parent company – said simply that the five were "removed" and replaced with five others who have "deep experience in corporate governance of public companies."

But in an interview with All Things Considered [npr.org], NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik compared the Viacom shakeup to a "Shakespearean drama." David explains:

You've got Sumner Redstone, he's now 93 years old... he's the figure who assembled Viacom and also the CBS corporation. His protégé, his lawyer for many years, his advisor and counselor for three decades — kind of a surrogate son — Philippe Dauman, is the CEO and chairman of Viacom. And he's tossed him off, not only now off the Viacom board but also National Amusements, which is Redstone's holding company through which he controls both Viacom and CBS. This is a battle that's pitted Dauman, in a sense, against the daughter, the long-estranged daughter of Sumner Redstone, who has in recent years reconciled with the media mogul. And so you see a surrogate son and a once-estranged daughter battling for control of the future of this media empire.

Also at CNNMoney [cnn.com] and Reuters [reuters.com].

Original Submission