Viacom to axe 850 jobs

MTV owner Viacom has said it will cut about 850 jobs and freeze senior-exec pay in a bid to weather the economic storm ahead. Some programme budgets are also expected to be cut. In a statement, the media firm's CEO Philippe Dauman told reporters: "The changes we are making in our organisation and processes will better position Viacom to navigate the economic slowdown and generate sizable efficiencies that will help us to drive our business as the marketplace stabilises and conditions improve".