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Wednesday, February 11, 2004
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Viacom to shed Blockbuster stake
By Seth Sutel
IHtASSOCIATED PRESS
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NEWYORK — Viacom Inc.,
the media conglomerate that
mW and CBS, is getting
ddofitstontrolling stake in the
Muster video rental chain
indlakinga $1.3 billion charge
tnreflectthe declining value of
k business. The charge put
Worn well into the red for its
tet fiscal quarter.
Ironically, the reason Viacom
finally bought Blockbuster
10 years ago was for the large
amounts of money it made,
which Viacom needed at the
time to finance its bid for
Paramount in a heated takeover
battle against rival suitor QVC.
Today. Blockbuster still
makes money, but its revenues
are declining and investors are
worried about its prospects
given that giant retailers like
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are flood
ing the market with cheap DVDs
for sale. The video rental busi
ness is also facing challenges
from emerging technologies
such as video-on-demand, per
sonal recording devices like
TiVo, and even the DVD rent-
by-mail service offered by
Netfiix Inc.
Viacom has been considering
what to do with its 81 percent stake
in Blockbuster for some time, and
apparently its efforts to find a
buyer have failed. Now Viacom
says it plans to divest the stake
using a tax-free split-off transac
tion, under which Viacom share
holders would have the option of
exchanging some of their stock for
shares in Blockbuster.
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Wright
from page 1A
“We have a lot more in common, and we need
nwork together to help each other,” she said.
Wright said Black History Month is important
fotwhites because it forces them to face race rela
te head-on.
“Whites can’t be neutral on race,” he said. “If they
Kneutral they are aligned with the opposition."
s Wells, a sophomore psychology and
[science major, said he agreed that whites
be race-neutral, and must take steps to
a difference.
“Ithink Dr. Wright’s speech was incredible and
istepforward,” Wells said. “I’m a big advocate of
iversity, and 1 think it’s exactly what this
Jniversity needs.”
Wright said whites have always been positive
ly involved in the civil rights struggle and that
lacks should be aware of this.
“There’s a long line of whites who have made
t contribution to blacks in America,”
In a question-and-answer period following the
speech, Wright answered questions about the
Prairie View A&M voting rights, affirmative
action and campus diversity.
Wright said he knows that Prairie View A&M
students, have the right to declare residency in
Waller County, where Prairie View A&M is locat
ed, regardless of what Waller County District
Attorney Oliver Kitzman believes.
Wright also said he believes a predominately
white campus such as A&M should take steps to
give students an interracial experience, such as
reaching out to its sister campus.
“It is not enough for any university to say, ‘we’re
open and welcome,’” Wright said. “We need to go
back to that word ‘afflmiative.’There still is an under
representation of blacks on campuses like this.”
Wright concluded the speech by saying that
race relations have come a long way, and that the
progression of race relations is directly related to
races working together, especially in conjunction
with Black History Month.
“Ultimately, I think Black History Month says
that we can do remarkable things against incredi
ble odds,” Wright said.
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INER'S
113
WIDEST SELECTION « ORIGINAL DESIGNS w EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE
522 UNIVERSITY DR EAST 764.8786 BETWEEN THE SUIT CLUB & AUDIO VIDEO
MSC Voices of a Generation
“America remains an open-policy
nation of opportunity for anyone
who is willing to work hard in
pursuit of their vision of
the American Dream
- Ericka Dunlap
2004
Wednesday, February n, 2004
7:00 PM
Rudder Theatre
Admission is free
Tickets available at MSC Box Office
Or call 845-1234
845-1514 http://voices.tamu.edu