Pity the No. 2 at media congloms. They are from the outset an endangered species, ground down and spit out whenever things go wrong.
The question is whether Viacom prexy-chief operating officer Mel Karmazin will be the exception to that rule.
Last week, tensions between Karmazin and his boss, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone, flared up, leading to a barrage of news leaks and an equally impressive flurry of official denials.
A Jan. 30 meeting of the Viacom board further stirred the pot.
Per a story in the New York Times Feb. 1, Redstone told the board he would not renew Karmazin's contract when it expires in May 2003. The chairman supposedly pointed to the prexy's hard-charging management style as not in keeping with the company's corporate culture.
But the conglom continues to deny anything is seriously amiss, with a joint statement from the two toppers insisting press accounts of the board meeting were "outrageous and a total fabrication."
Redstone and Karmazin are believed to dislike each other, but there is no compelling evidence that the personal iciness has caused a breakdown in their professional relationship.
Meanwhile, scuttlebutt as to who may eventually replace Karmazin centered on CBS topper Leslie Moonves, though once again, such speculation was met with strenuous denials from the exec's own camp.
Yet another theory posits Moonves would be flanked by two other key execs -- MTV chairman Tom Freston and Viacom Entertainment chairman Jonathan Dolgen -- in a sort of trial triumvirate.
Or, Karmazin could disprove the rule, and remain to steer the conglom through most of the decade.
(Carl DiOrio contributed to this report.)
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