CBS Names Executives To Key Posts

CBS moved Tuesday to reshape its top management team by appointing station-group boss Mel Karmazin as president and chief operating officer of the corporate parent, CBS Inc. (See CBS's press release on the appointments.)

Karmazin is highly regarded by Wall Street investors for his attention to radio sales and profits. The stock rose 7/16 to 35 13/16 Tuesday, just below a 52-week high, on an otherwise down day for most U.S. stocks.

Chief executive Michael Jordan also said that CBS Television President Leslie Moonves will take on the additional title of chief executive of the company's television division, overseeing entertainment, news, sports and syndication. CBS said in a statement that Jordan would continue to "set strategic direction" for the media company.

Separately, CBS named Derek Reisfield, vice president of business development, as president of its new media group. In that post, Reisfield will be responsible for the company's Web-based operations, including its recently launched CBS.com Web site, and the joint ventures of CBS MarketWatch and CBS SportsLine.

Karmazin, 54, founded the radio powerhouse Infinity Broadcasting Corp. and sold it to Westinghouse last year for about $3.9 billion in stock. That deal made Westinghouse the nation's largest radio station owner just seven months after it spent $5.4 billion to buy CBS Inc.

Karmazin had been head of CBS' company-owned television and radio stations since May 1997. He was promoted Tuesday to posts that had been vacant.

Moonves, 48, became president of CBS Television in August 1997 after helping lift the network's ratings out of third place as its top programmer. Before joining CBS in 1995, Moonves was head of television programming at Warner Bros.

"With their leadership, CBS has become a pre-eminent broad-based media company, and I am confident that our growth will continue,"Jordan said.

(Editor's note: CBS MarketWatch is a joint venture of CBS and Data Broadcasting Corp.)

©1998 MarketWatch.com, L.L.C. The Associated Press contributed to this report