A Rather Bad Investment?

Viacom stockholders were probably not happy when the company's stock lost 2% of its value yesterday. It's difficult to know if this was a result of the on-going forged memo story at CBS, but you gotta figure that Rather's unraveling is not a good sign for Viacom. Now you can let some of the top Viacom shareholders know how you feel about it. Here is a list of Viacom shareholders, once again provided to us by an anonymous source. Contact names, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers are included. Have at 'em.

J. Marc provides information on Viacom's corporate code of conduct:

After the Enron scandal, the Sarbanes/Oxley Act was passed by Congress to mandate a higher standard of corporate accountability and governance for public companies. Under the Act, public companies are required to develop, and post for public inspection, rules and charters of corporate governance and an internal code of conduct for their employees, management and boards of directors. All public companies now have these documents posted to their corporate websites.

Viacom, Inc. is the publicly traded parent company of CBS News. In addition, they have a number of other well-known and respected brands including MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, VH1, BET, Paramount Pictures, Infinity Broadcasting, Viacom Outdoor, UPN, TV Land, Comedy Central, CMT: Country Music Television, Spike TV, Showtime, Blockbuster, and Simon & Schuster.

Viacom's corporate code of conduct (as posted on its website) states "You must always conduct your business affairs with honesty, integrity and good judgment." In light of the Bush Texas Air National Guard document controversy, if you have an opinion that the board should hear regarding their CBS News subsidiary, you can easily make your opinion known to the Company's independent board members. If you have strong feelings about this controversy, perhaps the board of Viacom should be contacted regarding your support or frustration. The Viacom board is filled with honorable men and women, and I am certain that, as a media company with many great product brands, they are interested in public opinion. That is what these communication channels are for.

The Sarbanes/Oxley Act required that public companies set up more accessible communications channels for reaching the board's independent directors. Communications procedures for contacting outside directors are very easy. In Viacom's case, the outside directors can be reached at:

nonmanagementdirectors@viacom.com

or write to: Viacom Inc., 1515 Broadway, New York, NY 10036-5794, Attention Non-Management Directors -- 52nd Floor.

This is a great country and the free exchange of ideas is one of our most precious freedoms. Let your voice be heard, whatever your position.

Here is a link to Viacom's code of corporate ethics and business conduct. It is an interesting read.