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VIACOM SHARES TRY -- BUT FAIL -- TO RECOVER Thursday, September 7 2006 
Shares
in
Viacom,
which
had
dropped
7.6
percent
since
Monday's
announced
ouster
of
CEO
Tom
Freston,
appeared
to
be
rebounding
in
early
trading
today
(Thursday),
then
suddenly
slumped
back
to
its
opening
level
at
midday
as
published
concerns
by
analysts
about
the
effect
of
the
firing
continued
to
pour
out.
Today's
(Thursday)
Los
Angeles
Times
published
an
article
suggesting
that
Freston's
removal
could
have
a
devastating
effect
on
MTV,
which
Freston
nurtured
to
become
Viacom's
(more)REDSTONE DECIDED TO DUMP FRESTON FIRST, THEN CRUISE Wednesday, September 6 2006 
Sumner
Redstone
had
already
decided
to
fire
Viacom
CEO
Tom
Freston
a
week
before
he
got
rid
of
Tom
Cruise,
according
to
reports
that
came
to
light
Tuesday.
Philippe
Dauman,
who
was
selected
to
replace
Freston,
told
today's
(Wednesday)
Daily
Variety
that
he
received
an
offer
from
Redstone
three
weeks
ago.
(Only
a
few
weeks
earlier,
Redstone
had
told
the
Wall
Street
Journal
that
"he
could
imagine
'no
circumstance'
under
which
he
would
dismiss
Mr.
(more) |
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Viacom employees gave Tom Freston a rousing sendoff Thursday unlike any staged for an ousted company CEO in memory. Workers left their offices and cubicles at Viacom's headquarters in Times Square, packing the lobby of the building and spilling onto the sidewalk outside. Security personnel estimated that the crowd numbered some 2,500. Staffers said that the demonstration occurred spontaneously and was touched off by emails sent to employees throughout the complex just minutes before Freston left the building. On its website, Broadcasting & Cable magazine quoted one MTV staffer as saying, "The energy of the moment was unbelievable. ... People were weeping, screaming. I've never experienced anything like that at the workplace." Another told Daily Variety: "It was like the end of the best concert you've ever been to." As Freston made his way to a waiting car, several employees embraced him. The New York Post said that he seemed visibly moved and chatted briefly with a few of them but made no statement. Meanwhile, in an SEC filing, Viacom indicated that Philippe Dauman, who is replacing Freston, will receive at least $21 million a year, including salary, bonuses and stock options.
