Word: paramountly
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...reasons for rejecting the Paramount bid, Time had asserted the necessity of preserving its corporate culture to ensure the editorial independence and freedom of its publications. While Allen stopped short of endorsing that concern as a primary basis for blocking a takeover bid, he indicated that the preservation of such ideals does carry weight. Wrote Allen: "This culture appears in part to be pride in the history of the firm -- notably TIME magazine and its role in American life -- and in part a managerial philosophy and distinctive structure that is intended to protect journalistic integrity from pressures from the business...
Allen noted that Paramount dismisses "this claim of 'culture' as being nothing more than a desire to perpetuate or entrench existing ((Time)) management disguised in a pompous, highfalutin' claim." Wrote he: "I understand the argument . . . But I am not persuaded that there may not be instances in which the law might recognize as valid a perceived threat to a 'corporate culture' that is shown to be palpable (for lack of a better word), distinctive and advantageous...
...judge also rejected Paramount's contention that Time executives were using the editorial-independence argument simply to entrench their positions. Wrote Allen: "There may be at work here a force more subtle than a desire to maintain a title or office. Many people commit a huge portion of their lives to a single large-scale business organization. They derive their identity in part from the organization and feel that they contribute to the identity of the firm. The mission of the firm is not seen by those involved with it as wholly economic, nor the continued existence of its distinctive...
While the courtroom was the main battleground in the Paramount-vs.-Time struggle, some unexpected lobbyists emerged to tout the Time-Warner combination. Director-producer Steven Spielberg, a close friend of Ross's, expressed his support in a telephone talk with the Warner chairman and Nicholas. Spielberg collaborator George Lucas, who distributes their Indiana Jones films through Paramount, wrote a column in the Wall Street Journal last week that praised the Time-Warner deal for promising "steadily increasing values" and attacked Paramount for "contributing to the further destabilization of the entertainment industry and the U.S. economy...
...Delaware court rejects Paramount's challenge to the $14 billion combination of Time Inc. and Warner Communications, but the merger is temporarily stayed to allow an appeal...