[Swprograms] Karmazin resigns from Viacom, Viacom may sell Infinity radio chain?

[Joel Rubin <jmrubin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I hope that it won't be sold to Clear Channel or Disney. Between big
media friend Michael Powell at the FCC and an enfeebled antitrust
division at Justice it's possible.

http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1918561

Viacom President and Chief Operating Officer Mel Karmazin resigns his
post, with little apparent warning. Viacom's chairman, Sumner
Redstone, said no one had asked Karmazin to resign. The media
conglomerate owns CBS, MTV and other cable channels as well as the
Paramount movie studio. Karmazin said that he was stepping down to
pursue other personal and professional opportunities. NPR's Jim
Zarroli reports.


http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/199149p-171969c.html

With the Mel-ody over, 
Infinity will change tune 
 
By DAVID HINCKLEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER 
 
Mel Karmazin's abrupt departure from Viacom Tuesday didn't immediately
change radio - Howard Stern didn't walk out - but Viacom's Infinity
Radio family was such a creature of Karmazin's style it seems
inevitable a change is gonna come.
Karmazin got his media foothold in radio, at WNEW, and he knows what
he likes: "oceanfront property," meaning strong stations in major
cities; big-name, high-profile personalities like Stern and Don Imus,
and aggressive ad sales. (Witness the number of commercials on WFAN,
WCBS-AM and WINS.) 

He was a key player in building radio from a scattered media into an
industry led by multibillion-dollar giants who carry a lot more clout.

He also helped change programming. 

"People don't remember what a bold move it was to take Stern in 1985
and make him the morning man on an FM station," says Michael Harrison,
editor of Talkers magazine. "Mel has had an enormous influence, very
hands-on." 

"Infinity is Mel's culture," says Tom Taylor, editor of the trade
sheet Inside Radio. "His stamp is on everything, from programming to
executives like [Infinity president] Joel Hollander." 

Stern says he fears his new bosses may not stand up to FCC indecency
charges as strongly as Karmazin did. 

But Karmazin was also a pragmatist who took Opie & Anthony off the air
after the "Sex in St. Patrick's" controversy. Perhaps more important,
suggests Taylor, is whether Viacom will continue on Karmazin's broader
course. 

Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone hinted Tuesday that he would consider
selling Infinity. If he doesn't, it will be revealing to see if
Infinity makes an effort to keep Stern or Imus, both of whom have made
the company a lot of money, when their current contracts expire. Both
have said these contracts could be their last
 


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