Stewart, James B

"The shocking inside story of the struggle for power and control at Paramount, the multibillion-dollar entertainment empire controlled by the Redstone family, and the dysfunction, misconduct, and deceit that threatened the future of the company . . . Its founder and head, ninety-three-year-old Sumner M. Redstone, was facing a very public lawsuit brought by a former romantic companion, Manuela Herzer--a lawsuit that placed Sumner's deteriorating health and questionable judgment under a harsh light. As one of the last in a long line of all-powerful media moguls, Sumner had been a relentlessly demanding boss, and an even more demanding father. When his daughter, Shari, took control of her father's business, she faced the hostility of boards and management who for years had heard Sumner disparage his daughter. Les Moonves, the popular CEO of CBS, felt particularly threatened. Scheming with his allies on the board, Moonves worked to strip Shari of power. But while he publicly battled Shari, news began to leak that Moonves had been involved in multiple instances of sexual misconduct, and he began working behind the scenes to try to make the stories disappear. 'Unscripted' is [a] . . . look at the usually secret inner workings of two public companies, their boards of directors, and a wealthy family in the throes of seismic changes. Through the microcosm of this company, whose once victorious business model of cable fees and ticket sales is crumbling under the assault of technological advances, and whose workplace is undergoing radical change in the wake of #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, and a distaste for the old guard"--Provided by publisher.

Describes the techniques of writing successful nonfiction books, articles, feature stories, or memoirs; discussing ideas, information gathering, structure, dialogue, endings, and other topics.

Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Martin Siegel, and Dennis Levine will long be remembered for the Wall Street insider trading scandals of the 1980s. Stewart, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Wall Street Jour nal reporter who covered the various scandals, has used his reportage as well as an exhaustive culling of court documents, testimony, and interviews with all of the participants to fashion an authoritative account of what happened. Stewart has done a thorough job in assembling the facts and has made connections that may surprise some readers. For example, Milken, the Drexel Burnham Lambert junk bond king who convinced many savings institutions and insurance companies to buy these bonds in large quantities, may have indirectly contributed not only to the bailout of various thrifts but also to the insolvency of some insurance companies.

Documents the fierce executive battle for control of the Walt Disney Company, in an account that discusses how Michael Eisner lost his chairmanship and how the conflict reflects modern-day American capitalism and popular culture.

Argues that the American judicial system is being undermined by rampant perjury by key witnesses, offering real-life evidence of the problem and its impact on American culture and politics.