I'm a stockholder that has admired Jeff Bewkes great stewardship of these many great media brands.
I am looking to sell my stock before merger because I can't imagine AT&T having the creative insticts to manage what Jeff has done going forward.
I am looking to sell my stock before merger because I can't imagine AT&T having the creative insticts to manage what Jeff has done going forward.
“TV Everywhere” Mr. Luce would be so proud~
This is pathetic! Just how in the world can our so called lawmakers not see this is a horrible idea. I guess soon we'll have one company owning everything, (probably Amazon), then what? With no competition, and driving all competitors out of the race results in terrible service and sickening prices. Just look no further than the Direct TV purchase to see this is a bad idea.
3
Just another horrifying example that proves that the USA is no longer a democracy that's ruled by the many.
Uncle Sam is running an oligarchy---power to the few. This merger needs to be declared illegal ASAP.
And sorry, Mr. Bewkes, no one is worth 95 million dollars-- your paycheck is both frightening and morally indefensible!
Uncle Sam is running an oligarchy---power to the few. This merger needs to be declared illegal ASAP.
And sorry, Mr. Bewkes, no one is worth 95 million dollars-- your paycheck is both frightening and morally indefensible!
6
A quandary for Trump. Should I allow the merger that gets rid of the man who has nurtured one of my bitterest enemies... at the cost of giving him a $95 million payday? Probably the first bit of policy Trump will actually give serious consideration over, given his bent to make all politics personal.
1
If he truly created billions of dollars of wealth for shareholders, then 95$ million is a drop in the bucket.
Of course, I'm sure if any of these commentators were making 95$ million, it'd be a completely different story.
Of course, I'm sure if any of these commentators were making 95$ million, it'd be a completely different story.
2
Scott, asst this point, soon shares won't mean a thing, since they'll be no competition. Note that owners are becoming fewer and fewer.
2
So we all pay higher rates forever as business collates around ever larger monopolies and the leaders are showered with riches, the public get what goes into the sewer. Make America Great Again, yea right...
3
Of course this merger should be stopped on anti-trust grounds.
12
That is more money than the budget for entire cities, for most of the country. There is NOTHING one human can do that makes him worth that much. He should step up and donate the whole bag of loot to Planned Parenthood.
9
He is to be commended for HBO but condemned for what has happened to CNN. I seriously am hoping AT&T hands Jeff Zucker- the man who ruined morning news television - a Pink Slip day one and cleans house. Wolf Blitzer can be shown the door as well. The network was better before the shift to New York from Atlanta and the wholesale importation of Broadcast Network rejects into CNN after Turner sold out the company.
Maybe I am old fashioned, but I like news on a so-called news network. What they did to Headline News is criminal. CNN is awful and CNN International not much better now that there is an American version of CNN International.
Maybe I am old fashioned, but I like news on a so-called news network. What they did to Headline News is criminal. CNN is awful and CNN International not much better now that there is an American version of CNN International.
9
I'm sorry folks: nobody deserves a $95M golden parachute for _anything_. This is indefensible, both morally and in terms of shareholder value.
18
Morals are sadly absent in many parts of this country. We are in our "let them eat cake" moment. Until the pitchforks come out it will only get worse.
5
One of Trump voters' key concerns is the rich - reducing their taxes, and further unleveling playing field in their favor
If anything Trump would want Bewkes to get more money
And Trump would get standing ovations at his rallies about it.
If anything Trump would want Bewkes to get more money
And Trump would get standing ovations at his rallies about it.
3
A decision between stopping a merger with a company he hates because they tell the truth about him or giving a corporate exec an obscene payout.
What a moral dilemma for Trump.
What a moral dilemma for Trump.
4
Time was the first weekly news magazine in the United States when it began publication in 1923, but not the first weekly magazine. Harper's Weekly, for instance, published for nearly 60 years starting in 1857.
1
I've heard Mr. Bewkes is a nice guy who knew what he was doing and did it well. But is he really worth $95 million? He got "The Sopranos" on the air; he didn't cure cancer. I don't begrudge him a comfortable retirement, but still ... I only hope he uses that golden parachute to support education, affordable housing, the environment or some other worthy causes. If wealth is going to be concentrated in the hand of a few, they'd better be a good few.
9
Jeff Bewkes has shining accomplishments to his credit. But he was born with a platinum spoon in his mouth. His father, Eugene Garrett Bewkes, Jr. was a senior executive at Norton Simon (Hunt Foods, McCall's, etc.) and then a Director at Interstate Bakeries. His father's education includes Deerfield, Colgate and Yale Law School. He made sure his three boys, including Jeff, got the best educations, experiences and introductions. His own father, Eugene Garrett Bewkes, was also highly accomplished and connected as as a professor at Colgate and later as president of St. Lawrence University for many years. It would take a book to cover all that Jeff's father accomplished himself and his help for his family and friends and generally the long illustrious history of the Bewkes family. Genes really do matter.
3
It's always been about you know, and it's at its worse.
I also worked with him as a common "laborer" office temp...... He was always friendly, so very kind, (even acknowledging you you when he was passing by).....a hint of a sense of humor which came out even to us underlings.....and one felt proud to be a part of his organization...he steered the ship well! I only wish him the best.
7
How did you like your seventeen dollar an hour salary?
I worked with Jeff at HBO and he seemed to me to be a rare personality in media, and business -- brilliant, funny, confident, classy, modest and a genuinely good and decent person. Nice guys not only finish first, they can rule the media world.
10
But is he really worth a $95M payout, when clerks and others at the bottom of the corporate good chain are probably living paycheck to paycheck?
12
...and is it really worth even more media consolidation? (I was about to say "less media competition" but that'd be silly; they don't compete, they monopolize!)
I don't give a damn if the fat cat is nice. We went from cable monopolies to a media regime ruled by HTML-killing Netflix, job-killing Amazon, and fair-use-killing YouTube. That's not an improvement, and we need to work to ratchet all of that (and the costs of actually *watching* things...ye gods!) back to some degree of sanity before even thinking of allowing yet another gag-worthy megamerger.
I don't give a damn if the fat cat is nice. We went from cable monopolies to a media regime ruled by HTML-killing Netflix, job-killing Amazon, and fair-use-killing YouTube. That's not an improvement, and we need to work to ratchet all of that (and the costs of actually *watching* things...ye gods!) back to some degree of sanity before even thinking of allowing yet another gag-worthy megamerger.
2
Only in the US and China the big officers of companies live with a "Golden parachute." In the US it's official, in China, it's not. What does it tell us about corporate America?
5
Admittedly it is a lot of money, but perhaps Mr Bewkes's potential payout should not be called a "golden parachute", since in this case it reflects compensation for what he did for the value of the organization.
This does not irritate me nearly as much as "carried interest" - not to mention the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United, which wasn't about citizens at all.
Good report; thanks.
This does not irritate me nearly as much as "carried interest" - not to mention the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United, which wasn't about citizens at all.
Good report; thanks.
Bob Nardelli left Home Depot with 110 MILLION after gutting the company of its culture and formula for success. Then he helped Chrysler do a spiral dive. Not sure what he got for that.