NY Observer > Viacom Inc.

Rousing East-Siders, Group Protests Media Depictions of Minorities

Nicole Dweck — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:34:47 -0500

If you live in the east 60's and you like sleeping in on Saturday mornings -- too bad.

For the third Saturday in a row, locals were awoken by the shouts of protesters outside the E.65th street mansion of Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman. The group, which calls itself the Campaign for Corporate Responsibility in Entertainment, wants to change the way media companies portray black and Latino men and women in music videos , T.V, and movies. It's calling for media companies like Viacom to adopt universal standards prohibiting lyrical or visual content that is degrading, promotes violence, and stereotypes black and Latino men as hoodlums and thugs, and women as promiscuous. Sample slogan: "BET does not reflect me!" read more »

Will Spielberg, Geffen Walk From Dreamworks?

Tom McGeveran — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 08:39:20 -0400

Peter Bart reports in today's L.A. editions of Variety that Viacom chief Sumner Redstone's relationship with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen is going south.

According to his report-which relies on unnamed sources-the duo could walk in 15 months if their relationship with Mr. Redstone, whose purchase of Dreamworks through Paramount was regarded as a coup in Hollywood, does not improve.

Family Feudal: Redstone, 84, Losing Heir at Viacom

Observer Staff — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 08:04:29 -0400

Sumner Redstone "played down" reports over the last 24 hours that he had becomed estranged from his daughter and once-presumptive heir, Shari Redstone.

But the effect of his words was to confirms suspicions, as Richard Siklos and Geraldine Fabrikant write in The New York Times today, that the 84-year-old Mr. Redstone is preparing a William Randolph Hearst-style legacy: ensuring that his heirs are enriched by his controlling interests in CBS Corporation and Viacom, while media and entertainment professionals take over the running of the businesses. read more »

MTV to Skateboarders: Break a Leg, Live!

Felix Gillette — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 20:00:00 -0400

On the evening of May 31, 2006, a shaggy-haired teenager in Buffalo, N.Y., peddled his skateboard to read more »

The Battle of Dante’s Cove

Chris Schmidt — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 19:00:00 -0500

If you’ve lately gotten on the subway at the intersection of 14th Street and Eighth Avenue, yo read more »

New York Magazine to Shake Off Midtown Coil for Hudson Square

Observer Staff — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 06:37:44 -0500

The Observer's crackerjack media reporter (and former Manhattan Transfers columnist) Michael Calderone this week reported on New York magazine's likely move from Midtown to (gasp!) Hudson Square.

"Our lease is up in September," said a New York spokesperson. "So we are exploring a number of different options for a space, including negotiating with our current landlords."
First on the list: 1 Hudson Square, in far west Soho, just up from the Holland Tunnel. (Note to staff: Is Jersey ... back? Wait--was it here the first time? Check archives!)

The Rosetta stone for deciphering Park Slope stroller mommies and Upper East Side Type-A's would join other media joints that have made a commercial home in the once-struggling Soho slice, including WNYC and CBS Radio; Viacom, too, plans a move to Hudson Square.

- Tom Acitelli

Hudson Square Grabs Viacom; Penn Plaza Nabs Gym Chain

John Koblin — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 19:00:00 -0500

Media behemoth Viacom has a lease out for as much as 250,000 square feet at 345 Hudson Street, in th read more »

Hudson Square--Separating Hype From Reality

Observer Staff — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 11:17:28 -0500

For years, Hudson Square has been an echo chamber of rumors. The vacancy rate is amazingly high, but brokers--especially those at Cushman & Wakefield brought in by Trinity Real Estate to shake things up--promise that will change.

In Wednesday's Times, Andy Peretz of C&W said, "We have so many deals and so many leases out, we are going to see [the vacancy rate] drop in 30 days."

Well, he's no doubt referring to the Viacom lease that The Observer reported today.

But what else out there is there for Hudson Square? Is this pending vacancy-rate plunge actually legit? Or just a bloated campaign pitch to attract more tenants?

The Real Estate will be watching closely. - John Koblin

In This Week's Observer...

Observer Staff — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 04:17:04 -0500

Hudson Square Grabs Viacom Lease "Media behemoth Viacom has a lease out for as much as 250,000 square feet at 345 Hudson Street in the long-struggling commercial area of Soho's Hudson Square." New York Sports Club Parent Leases in Penn Plaza "Take that, Equinox! Town Sports, which controls omnipresent gym New York Sports Club, has found its new headquarters. Town Sports will move into a 28,000-square-foot home at 5 Penn Plaza." Go to Commercial Breaks by John Koblin. Bank Branches Disappearing? What Corner You Live On? "Not long ago, some retail brokers were predicting a sort of cataclysmic bubble-bursting for the city's seemingly never-ending bank-branch boom. At least at street level, these forecasts of a recession in the recent retail-leasing dominance of banks appear quite premature." Go to Counter Espionage by Chris Shott. Moses Envy: Caro, Columbia Battle Over The Ghost of Moses "Sometime last fall, the biographer Robert Caro got a phone call from Roger Hertog, vice chairman of Alliance Capital Management and a rich and powerful New York City history buff. Columbia was planning a big exhibit on Robert Moses, New York's master builder from the mid-20th century, and he wanted to know if Mr. Caro would give a lecture as part of it. It was the first time, Mr. Caro said, that he had heard from anyone connected to the massive three-part exhibit opening next week, 'Robert Moses and the Modern City,' which includes among its backers noted historian Kenneth T. Jackson." Go to story by Matthew Schuerman. Johnson & Johnson Heiress Libet Sells Last Trump Condo for $18.5M "After a five-year wait, heiress Libet Johnson has finally sold off the brassiest penthouse in the brassiest tower in town. According to city records, she parted with Penthouse 51-B at Trump International on Central Park West for $18.5 million." Andre to Wally: Comfort Can Be Dangerous! "Wallace Shawn and Deborah Eisenberg, the exceedingly literary local power couple, have bought the duplex penthouse in a West 23rd Street brownstone near 10th Avenue. According to city records, they paid $2,158,530." Go to Manhattan Transfers by Max Abelson. Sky-High Property Taxes Give Renters the Shaft "Renters, beware! You are about to get shafted--thanks to property taxes. For many years now, rental landlords (and commercial-building owners) have been paying disproportionately more in property taxes; and they often pass these higher taxes on to tenants through higher rents." Go to The Lab by Tom Acitelli.

All I Want This Christmas: An Exit Strategy!

Bruce Feirstein — Sun, 18 Dec 2005 19:00:00 -0500

And so we’ve come to the final days of 2005. read more »