Sumner's Last Stand

On a recent rainy afternoon at the Times Square headquarters of Viacom Inc., Chairman and Chief Executive Sumner M. Redstone huddles with his two vice-chairmen, Philippe P. Dauman and Thomas E. Dooley, over their regular weekly lunch. Redstone, who meticulously monitors everything he takes into his nearly 74-year-old body, sits down with just a plate of dry corned beef ("Sumner's protein diet," observes Dooley) and launches into the global and parochial issues he is tackling this week on behalf of Viacom, the media conglomerate he has assembled over the past decade.

First, Redstone says that News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch just called, asking for a meeting the following week, when Redstone will be in Los Angeles. He suggested "we stop being perceived as adversaries," Redstone says to his two chief lieutenants. He wants to "see what we can do together." Dooley, a savvy financial executive who has been with Redstone for a decade and with Viacom even longer, outlines an area where Viacom and News Corp., already partners in Nickelodeon UK, might explore a deal. Redstone adds a suggestion of his own. After all, he notes, "I don't think he just wants to have a sandwich."