'Park' pals ponder prez
Duo lobbying Comedy Central
The creative duo even went so far as to fly to New York to lobby MTV Networks chairman Tom Freston for the job. Freston oversees Viacom's 50% interest in Comedy Central; HBO chairman Jeff Bewkes looks after Time Warner's half-interest in the cable channel.
It's unknown whether Parker and Stone have a realistic chance of getting chief executive positions at Comedy Central, but Freston did take the meeting with the two.
Stone and Parker arguably have more to do with Comedy Central's recent ratings and revenue success than anyone else. Their cartoon, "South Park," became Comedy Central's first breakout hit and still ranks near the top of cable ratings each week.
In addition, Parker and Stone are the only known candidates for the Comedy Central job that have not been eliminated.
Sources said the other candidates who have been considered are either not interested or have been passed over. These include MTV programming chief Brian Graden, MTV general manager Van Toffler, Comedy Central executive VP Larry Divney and Comedy's programming head, Eileen Katz.
Freston and Bewkes told Comedy Central's staff two weeks ago that they will not rush to replace Herzog. Insiders don't expect an announcement until sometime in the first quarter of 1999.
A spokeswoman for Freston did not return a call seeking comment.
