HOLLYWOOD - Viacom Chairman and CEO Sumner Redstone has denied reports of a rift between him and Viacom President and COO Mel Karmazin.
In an interview
appearing in Sunday's Los Angeles Times, Redstone remarked,
"There is no rift. It's a myth."
Asked how he would react if Karmazin
asks to become CEO when his contract comes up for renewal in two years
(and when Redstone turns 80), Redstone replied: "Mel is doing a fine
job. He's doing just as well as I expected or better. But I'm not going
to give up my job. ... I think it would be very destabilizing to name
any successor at this time. But I wouldn't denigrate Mel because he
doesn't deserve denigration. He deserves praise."