Les Moonves is trying too hard

-SDH There are many questions hanging over Viacom and CBS, both were separated in an effort to create shareholder value and in our opinion to end the battle of the successors between Les Moonves and Tom Freston who at the time were Co- CEOs of the combined company known as Viacom. Since the companies went their separate ways, the only thing that was created was more headaches for all parties involved. Both companies have been struggling to gain footing along with its competitors. CBS CEO Les Moonves spent big trying to land CBS on the good foot but none of his well publicized acquisitions has added any value to CBS that is worth mentioning. Some of his most recent splurges include the purchase of Wall Street blog, Wallstrip.com which to this day we still don’t get. He scooped up Lastfm.com only to re-launch it with much fanfare promoting its new free internet radio format, something already available all over the web. There is the whole Katie Couric hiring which failed big time and is costing the company a lot of money due to her salary and ad dollars. His most recent splurge was on Cnet Networks, a digital media company which produces websites like, Cnet.com, Chow.com and ZDnet.com. As far as CBS’s whole digital push, its Les Moonves swinging at marble sized balls with a broom stick hoping for a direct hit. These expensive splurges and CBS’s lack of love on Wall Street at the moment will ultimately lead to Moonves’ ouster. Hell. we think Sumner Redstone’s finger is already on the trigger. We campaigned (if you will) for Les Moonves when he was the shining star in Sumner Redstone’s eye. We called for him to be installed in dual rolls as CEO of both CBS and Viacom. But that was just us being naïve and jumping on the bandwagon (yeah we have the balls to admit it). But what seems to have happened here is that Les Moonves got a little too sure of himself and got a big head to go along with an even bigger ego. This is the man who spent big to get into the record business by re-launching CBS Records when the record business was trying to get out of the record business. This is the man who spent big to get into film with high salary hires. Les Moonves was trying too hard to please and in doing so, spent money where he didn’t need to, or perhaps shouldn’t have at all. Les Moonves is just an analog executive trying to survive in digital world and in doing so gambled big, not only with company money but perhaps with his job as well. Some of the things Moonves should consider moving forward if he is still around is to spin off the radio business and sell book publisher Simon & Schuster. Doing this would probably tighten the focus at CBS a bit. Moonves needs to also hold off on anymore Internet acquisitions. Sumner Redstone can’t be too happy with Moonves at the moment.

Sumner Redstone is about to violate your privacy

-SDH We almost forgot that Viacom still had an open lawsuit against Google's Youtube.com for copyright infringement. Well the legal action just got bumped up a notch by a court ruling this week ordering Youtube to hand over sensitive user information to Viacom and its legal eagles. Viacom will get their hands on your Youtube.com user IDs, information about which clips you watched and your IP address. The question still remains, what does Viacom really want? If the company is taking this action against Youtube, what about those other sites that are also streaming Viacom owned content without the company’s permission? Guess you have to go after the big guy in the yard to prove a point. While Viacom is looking to prove widespread unauthorized viewing of its shows like "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" on Youtube, privacy watchdogs are howling that the move is a massive invasion of privacy. YOUTUBE HANDS PROFILES TO VIACOM [NYP]

Will Tom Freston ever break his silence?

By SDH When Sumner Redstone fired Tom Freston to cover his own short comings on the whole Myspace deal, he sent Tommy off with a sweet $85 million thank you pay out after Tom signed a gag order baring him from talking shit about Redstone and Viacom. But gag orders don’t last for long and it has probably expired already. We know Tom Freston has lots to say about his short stint as CEO of Viacom working directly under Redstone. We would love to hear what really happened with the Myspace.com deal because the talk is that, it was Redstone himself who prevented Tom from moving on the social networking site which would have fit nicely with MTV and its online properties. We think a tell all book is in order. Sumner paid big to keep Tom quiet but people always talk.

Sumner Redstone will be remembered as cantankerous old man, Les Moonves will be done soon, Tom Freston was fired by Sumner because of Sumner

“I guess I’d like to be known as a loving and supportive father and grandfather,” -SUMMNER REDSTONE ON HOW HE WOULD LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED By SDH The New York Time’s Tim Arango (Wazzup Tim?) puts fingers to keyboard on the subject of Sumner Redstone’s legacy and the drama that hangs over it. Sumner is like that old man who lives in that house on your block with the uncut lawn and old truck in the driveway that everyone is afraid to say hello to because he is mean and gives the neighborhood kids and their mommies the creeps. For years many have wondered who will succeed him as lord of CBS and Viacom, and even to this day the soon to be 85 year old Redstone, can’t give a straight answer. It’s as if he doesn’t even want to entertain the thought of not being in control one day believing he will live forever. In the article, analysts question the break up of CBS and Viacom, An insider claims Tom Freston was fired because Redstone hampered his ability to move on Myspace (Duh!) and CBS CEO Les Moonves is on the slow road out. Ok so we added that one. Sumner Redstone seems to have rubbed many people the wrong way, on both the business and family side. So we can’t help but wonder, if when he dies, some in Hollywood and even his family will silently be celebrating.

Old man Sumner honored and more in our afternoon aggregation

BY SDH Viacom/CBS's immortal leader, Sumner Redstone was honored by the Paley Center for Media and everyone who is anyone was their except for CBS's day to day ruler Les Moonves who was on the west coast tending to some CBS business. Couldn't he have stuck an underling with that and be present to see the boss honored? Not a good look Leslie [HR] What's up with Seagram killer Edgar Bronfman Jr. being investigated for insider trading dating back to his Vivendi Universal days as Executive Vice Chair [AP] MTV Prexy Christina Norman will call it quits at the end of the month to "Have more time for herself" No one just ups and quits if all is well right?. We think MTV is eliminating layers which they have a lot of and Christina was asked to bow out gracefully [B&C] MySpace exec Travis Katz says that more of you will hang out on Myspace while on the go in about 5 years via your mobile device. Funny we thought Myspace would have just become a stain on the major internet wall by then with the next big thing taking away all the fakes and pedophiles [NMA]

Will Sumner Redstone outlive Frank Biondi, Mel Karmazin, Tom Freston and Phil Dauman as well?

-SDH Sumner Redstone's preference in having lawyers run his media company isn't recent, it goes way back to the 1980's when Terrence A. Elkes was president of the company. Anyway Elkes passed away at the age of 73 due to complications of a malfunctioning heart valve. Elkes was 11 years younger the Sumner Redstone who is still healthy and strong enough to swim naked in his pool and perhaps spend bedroom time with his wife Paula (OK try not to picture that). Which one of old man Sumner's former lieutenants will be next to bow out before him? The man must be paying top dollar to make sure he wakes up every morning. Mr. Elkes joined the company as general counsel a year later, from Parsons & Whitmore, a privately owned paper mill company at which he had been vice president and general counsel. He became president of the company in 1978 and said at the time that he realized there were great cultural differences between the entertainment business and paper companies. Mr. Elkes realized that Viacom needed to expand. Among the deals that occurred on his watch was the decision to put Showtime together with the Movie Channel to compete against Time Warner’s Home Box Office. Viacom also acquired MTV Networks and CBS’s KMOX-TV and tried to buy parts of MGM/UA Entertainment. Terrence Elkes, 73, President of Viacom in ’80s, Dies [NYT]

Les Moonves: We're worth more, really!

-SDH At Citigroup's Annual Global Entertainment, Media & Telecommunications Conference, CBS CEO Les "Love Boat" Moonves tried to convince Wall Streeters and perhaps himself and Sumner Redstone that CBS's shares are undervalued. Les also assured those in attendance that the looming economic downturn and the ongoing writers strike won't hit CBS. And here we were thinking it was only News Corp that was economic downturn and writer strike proof. Les said that he is still on the prowl for new media acquisitions with growth potential and a founder willing to stay on knowing he/she will be canned in about a year or two after the acquisition. Hey Les how is the music business going for you? The fundamentals of all our businesses are sound," said Moonves, as he launched into a presentation he said was designed to convince Wall Street that his company's shares are undervalued. CBS Corp sees growth in all divisions in 2008: CEO [Reuters]

ABC on CNN: Politics brings CNN and ABC News together

Either CNN Prexy Jon Klein had nothing for the 7-8pm time slot tonight, or he loved the New Hampshire debates that ABC News broadcasted so much he had to air it on his network. Dian Sawyer was even on CNN which was kinda weird. In an interview CNN's Jon Klein said that he believes the lines between media giants are slowly being erased and CNN airing ABC's content is just another step forward in the no barriers direction. Now we can start speculating about some kind of deal in the works and this is just a public test run, but we won't. Jon Klein spoke about how the whole thing came about saying, he called his good buddy David Westin, who is President of ABC News who was getting on a plane to head to New Hampshire and asked if he could re-air the New Hampshire debates and it was a go. Is this really where big media is headed? Will we see Jeff Bewkes calling Sumner Redstone asking if he can air Nickelodeon content on the Cartoon Network? Or Rupert Murdoch calling Jeff Zucker at NBC asking if he could air Mad Money on Fox Business Network? Ok so that’s a stretch. But is no barrier, media industry workable where media companies trade content? Sure media companies buy syndication licenses to air shows of other networks that are no longer on the air but that’s the norm. What was the agreement on the back end of CNN airing ABC's New Hampshire debates? Is ABC News getting a cut from Ad revenue or was it just an agreement between two friends, CNN's John Klein and ABC News's David Westin. -SDH

Viacom's Philippe Dauman showing Tom Freston & Les Moonves how it’s done

-YOSH With the prediction by some analyst on Wall Street that the media industry is in the shitter, we never thought we would hear of one media company that is actually looking good on paper. Viacom, of all media companies, is sitting pretty in the black, thanks to cable and movies. It looks like the apple of Sumner's eye, Philippe Dauman, coming in to tighten things up is paying off, and somewhere in the hills of Hollywood, old man Sumner Redstone is doing naked back strokes in his pool as Paula looks on with a "WTF" expression on here face. Anyway with Viacom looking sweet, overpaid analysts have nothing but nice things to say. Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst with Global Crown Capital says: “What I like about Viacom is that they are not going out and doing these multi-billion dollar deals. They have not made splashy acquisitions but they have done some smart things with their brands online" Frederick Moran, an analyst with Stanford Group, adds: “Viacom has clearly begun its financial comeback. I suspect you will see accelerated growth in the fourth quarter and through the early part of 2008 despite general softness in advertising,” Moran said. “The only thing that could sidetrack it would be major economic slowdown. Viacom’s stock should outpace other major media companies for the next couple of quarters.” Viacom “transforms” into a winner [CNN Money]

Disturbing the Daumans

-YOSH Sumner Redstone should go easy on Viacom CEO Phil Dauman if he has been slacking off at work and lugging around the Viacom offices on Mondays because he may have a perfectly good reason why. The New York Post reports that every Saturday, a bunch of picketers gather in front of Mr. Dauman's upper east side digs and protests in an effort to get him to cut the violence in rap videos. Guess they forgot to also protest over the violence in movies that Paramount Pictures releases. Perhaps they are saving that for another day. "glorify violence and criminal activity, promote degrading images of women, show negative and stereotypical images of people of color, and portray black and Latino men as pimps, gangsters and thugs." And for a minute there we thought it would have been the pissed off Viacom freelancers making all that noise in Dauman's hood? PICKETS PICK ON MOGUL HOMES [NYP]

Sumner Redstone is dyeing

-MEDIA WIRE DAILY At 84 there is no way Sumner Redstone lacks the grays. So clearly he has his hair dyed at least once a month to help create the mental illusion that he is still young. However sometimes Sumner may miss an appointment or two which results in his true roots peeking out at us like the photo to the right. If Sumner Redstone does have his hair dyed to preserve his youth! Which product do you think he uses? WHICH HAIR DYE FOR MEN DO YOU THINK SUMNER REDSTONE USES? JUST FOR MEN FERIA FOR MEN BY L'OREAL EXPRESS FOR MEN HIS WIFE'S HAIR DYE HIS COLOR IS NATURAL

Old man Sumner speaks his piece on the writers strike

-MARTY Mike Eisner called them stupid, while telling media companies they should have kept their mouths shut about their digital businesses. Now old man Sumner Redstone, perhaps the oldest person in the media business, is speaking his piece on the writer strike and kinda implies they (the writers) are jumping the gun in demanding their cut of the digital distribution pie because digital pirates are still out there. Guess he wants them to wait until the digital pirates go away before they get a cut, which means never. "Everyone seems transfixed by the riches (that digital platforms) promise," Redstone said. "The opportunities are certainly out there, but so too are the challenges -- challenges that I submit are far more imminent." "If this sort of theft is allowed to continue unabated, the incentive to make blockbuster movies disappears," Redstone said. "If studios aren't making big movies, screenwriters aren't collecting big paychecks. Fewer scripts are submitted ... and there are a lot of people out of work." Redstone pickets pirates [Reuters]

is cancer calming Sumner Redstone down

-BY YOSH The usually mouthy Sumner Redstone seems to have hit a calm streak, at least it seems that way. But this could be due to a recent discovery during a doctor's visit. "I went to see a doctor just about a cough and he took my PSA [prostate-specific antigen]" he recalls. "It was extraordinarily high- it was an 8. Mike Milken, who suffered from the same disease, came to my house with four doctors." If this isn't reason to officially put in place a succession plan, then we don't know what is. Sumner has always said he will continue to rule Viacom and CBS from the grave. These statements and more has lead to bad blood between he and his daughter Sheri. However these days, thanks to his cancer scare, Sumner is back on talking terms with Sheri and is now sounding like a proud poppa who kicked his son out of the house for his own good, regarding his dismissal of Tom Cruise from the Paramount lot. The scolding "may have been a wakeup call" for Tom, says the corporate lion. "I did him no harm. I do want the best for him. I wish him luck in everything he does." Sumner Redstone & daughter back on speaking terms [NYDN]

sumner redstone will probably die an isolated and miserable old man, and phil dauman will be the only one at his funeral

At his age you would think the old fart that is Sumner Redstone would be humble, warm and grandfather like. Nope. It seems like the older he gets, the meaner and more insecure he gets. He rules Viacom and CBS from his mansion in the hills of Hollywood and he creates tension between himself and the people who work for him. Current Viacom CEO Phillippe Dauman must be the only person Sumner doesn't fight with. Then again when you're a yes man you tend to be in line right with the boss. Well it looks like a new war is brewing but this time Dreamworks founder David Geffen is firing the first shot in the new issue of Vanity Fair. -SHINESY "Nobody is going to treat me or my partner [Spielberg] in that manner and stay in business with us. Nobody." geffen goes on to call DreamWorks sale to paramount "a poor choice" and accuses Redstone of "bullying. And I will not be bullied. There is no fight I will run from. I am absolutely unafraid of Sumner Redstone." Geffen continues: "These people are a nightmare. I've never seen behavior like this in my entire life." Showdown at Fort Sumner [VF]

Sumner "Two Faced" Redstone

-YOSH Slapping all the other heads who have passed through Viacom in the past, old man Sumner Redstone, giddy due to the company's latest gain in profits, said that hiring stiffy Phil Dauman as the company's CEO was the best thing he and his board ever did. Of course Sumner, you have nothing but good things to say about your top execs as long as they are making you money. But like Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons said "Eventually Sumner fires everyone". The results from the media conglomerate, which owns MTV, Comedy Central and the Paramount and DreamWorks movie studios, beat Wall Street's expectations and sent its stock price up nearly 3 percent to $41.56 a share on the New York Stock Exchange. We can only imagine the not so nice things he is saying about CBS boss Les Moonves with that company's recent stock slide. Shares of its sister company, CBS Corp., which split from Viacom nearly two years ago, slipped 2 percent yesterday to $27.67, a day after it reported mixed quarterly results, including a 3 percent drop in revenue. VIACOM NET JUMPS 80% [NYP]

Less but more for Les, out at CBS in 2011?

Guess our advice to give Les Moonves dual rule over both Viacom and CBS went over the heads of board members. Moonves's new contract to extend his rule over CBS will pay him based on results at the company and his base salary will be a little less. But the contract only adds two years to Moonves's stint which will end in 2011, yeah right around the corner. Wonder if at that time Moonves will move on to another media company or is there a Moonves, Dauman power sharing plan over both CBS and Viacom in the works. Will Sumner Redstone even be around? Oh man we have so many questions. The new contract, which extends Mr. Moonves’s employment by two years to 2011, lowers his base salary to $3.5 million from $5.9 million, but stipulates that he will also receive a large one-time stock option grant to purchase five million shares, as well as a large grant over four years of restricted shares worth $7.6 million a year. Mr. Moonves is also eligible for a performance-based bonus. New Contract for Moonves Links Pay to CBS’s Results [NYT]

Viacom CEO Phil Dauman may be all that's good for business in Sumner Redstone's eyes, but he is so not cool

Phil Dauman, secretly got then Viacom CEO Tom Freston booted, and is also secretly behind the recent beef between Sumner Redstone and his look alike daughter Shari. Well at least that's what we think. He is that guy in those lifetime movies trying to drive a wedge between a wealthy old man and his kids. With his trim dark suits, gold cuff links and erect bearing, Philippe P. Dauman projects a sense of dignity and reserve that some in Hollywood regard as just this side of pompous. One industry insider called him "the quintessential New York suit."Dauman, 53, who just finished his first year as chief executive of the entertainment conglomerate Viacom Inc., is such a Manhattanite that he doesn't drive; he never even applied for a license. Viacom chief has clout, if not cool [LAT]

Old man Sumner Redstone's famous phrase still relevant, even in this here digital media era

Well at least they are big enough to admit it. It’s not all about a pretty website with videos and graphics and all that. Apparently it seems that is what the digital media folks at MSO thought was the key to killer traffic to their site. However they are now slowly seeing the light and realizing that it’s all about the content first, then you can slap on all the pretty shit later on. Old man Sumner Redstone said it best when he coined the phrase "Content is King" especially if the users control it. Executives at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia took great pains earlier this year to make certain the company's redesigned Web site looked flawless before rolling it out to the public. After all, this is a media company whose magazines, books, products and programs feature ideas about attractive and tasteful lifestyles. Why not a beautiful Web site? "That was a big mistake," Wenda Harris Millard, the company's president of media, said this week during a panel discussion at Advertising Week. "We put beauty before utility." Execs admit plenty of missteps in new media world [Reuters]

Morning Wire: Les Moonves to spend Sumner Redstone's money getting into a business he is already in

When Viacom and CBS split, It was said that Les Moonves believed the Paramount Pictures unit should have fallen under his rule being that he already had the television business and the two just went well together. But unfortunately for him the film business went to the since canned Tom Freston. But that didn't kill Les's dreams of being in the movie business. See Les doesn't mind gambling Sumner Redstone's money getting into new businesses. He re-launched CBS Records which hasn't even registered as a blip on any radar, and now he is about to gamble even bigger by building a movie studio from scratch. To show how serious CBS is about getting into the film business, Moonves already tapped a CEO in former Columbia Pictures production exec Amy Baer. We hope the film unit makes more noise than the record label. In an interview, Mr. Moonves said he had been eager to get back into the movie business, but that he did not view his film unit as replacing Showtime’s supply of movies from Paramount — or from M.G.M. or Lionsgate, whose output deals expire next year. “These four to six movies we’re doing are certainly not going to fill the pipeline,” he said. “I like the idea of owning more and more content, as you see what these libraries are worth, and the possibilities of what we can do with this company,” Mr. Moonves said. Moonves Picks Chief for Film Unit Under CBS [NYT]

So Tom Freston joined the board of Dreamworks Animation...Big deal!

OK so we're happy that former Viacom CEO Tom Freston got a gig as a member of the board of directors at Dreamworks Animation but we think publications like Variety are making more out of it than it really is. Tom will have no daily say so in the company, he is just another guy who has to vote on big hires, acquisitions etc... This in no way will make Sumner Redstone cut his naked morning swim short. Now if Freston was named Executive Chairman or something like that, we would make a big deal about it. Nevertheless, we are sure Freston's big third break isn't too far out. In a pointed move, Jeffrey Katzenberg-led DreamWorks Animation on Monday named Tom Freston to its board of directors. Announcement is a clear act of defiance against Viacom, from which Freston was famously fired as CEO by Sumner Redstone last fall. DreamWorks Animation pics are distribbed by Viacom-owned Paramount under a deal that extends through 2013. Dreamworks Animation adds Freston [Variety]

Viacom slowly ruining yet another relationship

Lately it seems like Viacom doesn't know how to preserve relationships. If it isn't old man Sumner yapping way over the line about someone, its CEO Phil Dauman. Dauman reportedly may have pissed off director Steven Spielberg by implying that Viacom and Dreamworks would continue to be successful without Spielberg's imput. You would think that a CEO would know how to choose his words more carefully. Now poor little Brad Grey has to step in and play the calmer while trying to avoid calling his boss a dick head. Speaking by telephone on Thursday, Brad Grey, Paramount’s chairman, was eager to calm the waters stirred up by one of his bosses. “I have the greatest respect for the creativity of Steven Spielberg and the entire DreamWorks team, as well as the immense entrepreneurial business skills of David Geffen,” he said. Mr. Grey added, “On behalf of Viacom and Paramount, I hope we’re all in business for a very long time.” Viacom Chief’s Remark on Spielberg Stirs a Furor [NYT]

Not if you work for Sumner Redstone

-Jay Gavrilove So apparently New York Timeser Michael Cieply is naive enough to think that current Paramount Studios topper Brad Grey will be around for the long haul. Ok Ok so he is just wondering out loud. Though his wondering out loud may turn out to be right, we kinda want to stay on the fence with this one. Why you ask? Um, just a hunch, or better yet an old guy by the name of Sumner Redstone who is known for wacking heads of his companies whenever he wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. Sure Brad Grey is about to make 3 years as head of Paramount, well maybe he will, but we all know there is no such thing as safe? What does one consider a long haul? 2 years, 3 years, or until the individual dies out of the top spot? Who decides what a long haul is? Michael Cieply breaks down how Studio bosses have gotten safer and safer in their jobs over time. For Studio Chiefs, the End of the Revolving Door? [NYT]

For Black Entertainment Television's Debra Lee we say, It's about time!!!

After seeing other cable nets coming up with hit shows that they should have come up with in the first place, the house that Bob Johnson built, Black Entertainment Television (BET) has discovered a little thing called "Original Programming". For years BET has built its brand on other people's backs, but not anymore. CEO Debra Lee has finally realized that, if BET wants to remain thee destination for African American cable viewers she has to spend some of Sumner Redstone's money. “What we have found over the years is that acquired and licensed programming has not done as well as we would have liked,” Ms. Lee said. “It was very clear that we had to invest more in original programming.” Have no fear, BET's Pexy of Entertainment Reggie Hudlin is here: “I want every black person with a TV watching, and a lot of people with TVs who like black people,” he said. “We want the black audience to start the day with BET and put the remote down at night without switching channels.” That's a tall order Reg but, you never know! At BET, Fighting the Rerun [NYT] EARLIER: Why are other cable networks beating BET to the punch? Their punch

Nickelodeon just likes to look at your kids even if they're not casting for a new show

We always wondered why a huge operation like Nickelodeon which competes directly with Disney falls under the MTVN umbrella but that's how grandpa Sumner structured his company. The company is part of the huge tween industry, which has been taking this country and the world by storm for years. Nickelodeon holds hundreds of auditions but some of the times they aren't even looking for anyone for anything. Guess they just like to look at tweens just to look at em to get an idea of the current tween trends perhaps? Well if you read through the 6 page feature over at nytimes.com you let us know. -NEIL “We’re seeing kids all the time,” Paula Kaplan, senior vice president of talent at Nickelodeon, told me. “Even when we don’t have a show to cast. We’re meeting kids on a regular basis, just bringing them in, just to see who they are.” Tween on the Screen [NYT]

If anyone knows about the "American Universal Dream" its Sumner Redstone

-SHOMARI HINES Most of us will never experience what is commonly referred to as the American Dream because well, some of us just wont. Some automatically associate the American Dream with being rich, and having all the toys and women/men anyone could dream of. But the reality is all those things contribute to the recipe for disaster if you're an idiot of course. Folks living what many of us consider the American Dream end up in rehab for drug and booze habits and constantly complain. Some of them go on to lose it and then bitch even more, but we digress. For Media grandpa Sumner Redstone, his take on the American Dream is a little wider than well, America. For him its more a "Universal Dream". In a short interview with Forbes Magazine Grandpa Sumner shares some advice on how you too can achieve the "Universal Dream" First you have to realize that nothing is impossible. Nothing. And then it's a matter of competence, commitment and character. You have to have tremendous competence to succeed. You have to have tremendous commitment to succeed. But without character you go nowhere. Sumner Redstone On The American Dream [Forbes]

Media Style: We all have our favorite piece of clothing right?

-Shomari Hines So what the guy is worth close to $10 Billion, that doesn't mean Viacom/CBS grandpa Sumner Redstone doesn't have a favorite piece of clothing in his closet. In this case its this olive green line patterned sports coat that the mogul wore to two of his movie premiers. At least he knew better to change the pants and shirt.

We all know where Viacom's frustration really came from

-Shomari Hines So by now we have no doubt that you heard that Viacom is taking it to the courts with Youtube over some copyright issues. We thought we heard the last of this when Viacom ordered Youtube to pull all their content but it looks like Viacom was out for blood from the start. So what’s really up with this crazy $1 Billion suit which probably won't go to court anyway? What kind of message is Viacom trying to send by bringing this lawsuit to a site that basically promotes their content? Sure we can understand where Viacom is coming from but, was a lawsuit really necessary? We think Viacom is still letting off steam from missing out on Myspace which many now refer to as the MTV of the internet. Viacom is pissed and they are letting it show. Why get tied up on legal crap when they could be putting that time and energy into correcting their digital fuck ups. Hell if they’re so pissed they should send some goons to Tom Freston’s house and slap him around for a few ticks. He is who they should be pissed at.

Les Moonves has to work even harder now to make sure Grandpa Sumner's pay is up to par

CBS said that it will now pay it's grandpa Sumner Redstone based on the stock price. Its not like Sumner needs the money anyway. Now poor Les Mooves has to make sure the stock sits pretty at all times. Under the new agreement, Redstone's annual salary will be reduced to $1 million from $1.75 million and his current $1.3 million per year deferred compensation will be eliminated. Moreover, his annual target cash bonus under the CBS short-term incentive plan will be cut to $3.5 million per year from $6.1 million. CBS links pay package of Redstone to stock price [Reuters]

Media's Billionaires, the Media Wire extraction

-Shomari Hines Forbes Magazine continues its annual spit in the face of us poor people by releasing their Billionaires list. From that list we extracted those we could remember within the media industry and/or those who dabble in it from time to time. Together the folks we extracted have an estimated combined sum of over $100 Billion. However we also believe Forbes has over estimated their list for years by counting one fortune 2 to 3 times, but we digress. Here are the list of media and/or media dabbling billionaires we were able to extract. Oh yeah they are not in any special order either. Barbara Cox Anthony – $12.6B Anne Cox Chambers - $12.6B Michael Bloomberg- $5.5B Rupert Murdoch - $9B Carl Icahn - S13B Sam Newhouse - $7.3B Dolan Family - $2.7B Sergey Brin- $16.6B Larry Page – $16.6B Kirk Kekorian - $15B Sumner Redstone - $8B Eric Schmidt - $6.2B CONTINUED.... Eli Broad - $6B Steve Jobs - $5.7B David Geffen - $4.7B George Lucas - $3.6B Jerrold Perenchio - $3B Steven Spielberg – 3B Haim Saban- $2.8B Ron Burkle - $2.5B David Filo - $2.3B Jerry Yang - $2.2B David Hearst - $2B George Hearst - $2B Roy Disney - $1.3B Meg Whitman - $1.3B Mike Eisner- $1B Herb Allen - $2B Austin Hearst - $2B Dan Ziff - $1.5B Dirk Ziff - $1.5B Robert Ziff - $1.5B Barry Diller - $1.4B Thomas Lee - $2B Edgar Bronfman- $3B

With Sumner's balls less about face on the Tom Cruise thing, we wouldn't be surprised

-Shomari Hines Viacom may be taking steps to not be Youtube dependant, but some think the media giant will go running and falling at Chad Hurley's feet in the long run. Hopefully digital czar Mika Salmi will make us all eat our words. The bottom line: YouTube does not need Viacom or NBC. For the moment, Viacom and NBC can tell themselves that they do not need YouTube. In another year or two, however, when every other content producer on the planet has set up a dedicated "channel" on YouTube, it will be the stubborn old media conglomerates' turn to say "please." YouTube Doesn't Need Viacom and NBC - But They'll Need It [SeekingAlpha]