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From: gam@amdahl.UUCP (gam)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Good evening. This is the CBS Evening News, Jesse Helms reporting.
Message-ID: <929@amdahl.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 13-Jan-85 05:56:12 EST
Article-I.D.: amdahl.929
Posted: Sun Jan 13 05:56:12 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 15-Jan-85 00:54:58 EST
References: <295@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP>
Organization: Blue Mouse Trailer Resort, Hellmouth, CA
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> News item from the NYT, Jan. 11, 1985 (article by Sally Bedell Smith):
> 
> 	...According to the documents, Senator Helms sent letters to 
> 	conservatives around the country urging them to buy shares in CBS
> 	in order to influence the company....
> 	CBS officials said there are 29.7 million shares of CBS stock held by
> 	about 24,000 shareholders.  William S. Paley, the former CBS 
> 	chairman, is the largest individual stockholder, with 6.55 percent.
> 	The price of a share of CBS stock closed yesterday at $73.875.

So in order get controlling influence of the company (ie, get
50.000...0001% of the stock of CBS) would cost
	29.7M * $73.875 (say) / 2 = $1097.04M = $1+ BILLION.

I understand from an "All Things Considered" report that the plan
was to send the letters to 1 million conservatives.  Each (and
every one!) would have to buy $1000 of CBS stock (guess what such
a rush to buy will do to the stock price?).  And then they all
have to agree (each and every one!) on what policies CBS should
follow.
-- 
Gordon A. Moffett		...!{ihnp4,hplabs,sun}!amdahl!gam