DECEMBER 1999 ·
VOLUME 20 · NUMBER 21
T H E L A W R E N C E S U M M E R S M E M O R I A L
A W A R D
DECEMBER 1999 ·
VOLUME 20 · NUMBER 21
T H E L A W R E N C E S U M M E R S M E M O R I A L
A W A R D
As they expand their global reach, media companies must be aware "of the politics and attitudes of the governments where they operate," Redstone said at a news conference of business leaders in China.
"Journalistic integrity must prevail in the final analysis. But that doesn't mean that journalistic integrity should be exercised in a way that is unnecessarily offensive to the countries in which you operate," he said.
Viacom, now in the midst of taking over CBS, has encountered resistance from Chinese regulators who object to programming on Viacom's MTV.
(Associated Press, "Viacom's Redstone: Journalism Shouldn't Offend Foreign Governments," September 28, 1999)
In a 1991 internal memorandum, then-World Bank economist and current Deputy
Secretary of Treasury Lawrence Summers argued for the transfer of waste and
dirty industries from industrialized to developing countries. "Just between
you and me, shouldn't the World Bank be encouraging more migration of the
dirty industries to the LDCs (lesser developed countries)?" Summers wrote.
"I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the
lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that. ... I've
always thought that underpopulated countries in Africa are vastly under
polluted; their air quality is vastly inefficiently low [sic] compared to Los
Angeles or Mexico City." Summers later said the memo was meant to be
ironic.
The December 1999 Lawrence Summers Memorial Award goes to Sumner Redstone, chair of the media giant Viacom.