Talk:Randall L. Stephenson

Lock for Now? edit

I believe that this page should be locked for the immediate future due to the recent block img.4chan.org and the undesirable edits that are occuring. 70.255.80.170 (talk) 02:57, 27 July 2009 (UTC)Reply

Dear Lord yes, whoever has the ability to do this, please do, the hate is about to come streaming —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.42.10.208 (talk) 03:09, 27 July 2009 (UTC)Reply

Do it fast. This needs to be done immediately. He isn't dead. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.142.70.191 (talk) 04:42, 27 July 2009 (UTC)Reply

i think there are several sources that, while unsubstantiated, present enough variation of independent reporting to warrant a "Rumors of Death" subsection. he may not be dead but that certainly isn't stopping people from saying he is; i think this article should reflect that. --Planraise (talk) 04:53, 27 July 2009 (UTC)Reply

To Planraise: I completely agree. Whether the rumors are true or not, it should at least be listed as a noteworthy event. --24.77.82.252 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 07:56, 27 July 2009 (UTC).Reply

I second a rumors of Death subsection, one that would include that the rumors were most likely set in motion by 4chan's userbase. It does not matter if the rumors were started with a malicious intent, what matters is that they were set in motion in a large enough scale for a lot of people to take notice. I do not think that Wikipedia entries should include local rumors that appear in one or two tabloid newspapers but the supposed death of Stephenson spread like wildfire through the internet, thus it should be present.

+1 for rumors of death subsection. It should be clear that the rumors are false, but they should be included in the article for completeness --65.116.132.250 (talk) 15:36, 27 July 2009 (UTC)Reply

Clarification: A section about the rumors would be in line with the policies in Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons including Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons#Semi-protection_and_protection —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.116.132.250 (talk) 15:38, 27 July 2009 (UTC)Reply

I also think that the article should include a section where Stephenson's stand towards Net Neutrality is made clear. The problem is that he has never given a straight answer to that question, but he is responsible for many AT&T decisions and if anonymous internet sources (and no I do not think they are all 4chan users)are to be given any heed Stephenson is responsible for the block on 4chan. My reasoning for this section would be that his stand on Net Neutrality atleast contributed to the rumors of his death and I think it is an important subject when the person in question holds an executive position in an Internet Service Provider company. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.148.200.120 (talk) 08:02, 27 July 2009 (UTC)Reply


Rumors of Mr. Stephenson's death are greatly exaggerated. 68.32.48.221 (talk) 23:39, 27 July 2009 (UTC)Reply

Unlock? edit

It seems that everything has calmed down, so I don't see any reason to keep it locked for the foreseeable future. 70.255.80.170 (talk) 21:45, 27 July 2009 (UTC)Reply

Not dead yet edit

In spite of this change by 174.103.80.116 (talk), he is not dead yet. 67.101.6.5 (talk) 06:16, 23 February 2012 (UTC)Reply

Compensation edit

Something doesn't check out here.

The article claims both "compensation totaled $20.2 million for 2010" and "His total compensation for 2011 was $22 million, an 18.5% drop from the $27 million he received the previous year". So which is it for 2010, $20.2M or $27M? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.61.173.213 (talk) 06:02, 12 June 2012 (UTC)Reply


BSA edit

Stephenson himself has said that's what he will do as board president. It's not a violation of CRYSTAL to report that fact. --AmherstApple (talk) 00:27, 10 January 2013 (UTC)Reply

So, you - a brand new editor - think your interpretation of policy trumps the consensus of the 3 other editors who disagree? Even if we pretend that you're right (you're not), you're still edit warring. Knock it off. ► Belchfire-TALK 00:41, 10 January 2013 (UTC)Reply

Edit Request edit

I am submitting this edit request for FleishmanHillard on behalf of AT&T. I am familiar with Wikipedia:Conflict of Interest and Wikipedia:Paid guidelines.

Two edits for consideration: 1. The information detailed in the article relative to the inaccurate report of Randall Stephenson’s cocaine binge and death (fourth paragraph under the Biography section) is irrelevant to the rest of the article and even borders on the sensationalist, which Wikipedia advises against in Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons. Please remove the following sentences: “On July 26, 2009, Stephenson was falsely reported as having died after falling into a coma following a massive cocaine binge during a party at his mansion.[3] The report originated from CNN's iReport website, although it was later taken down. Although the hackers who created the false report have never been identified, it is suspected that they were 4chan users who did the hack in retaliation for AT&T's decision to block the site for its broadband customers, a decision which had been provoked by an earlier denial-of-service attack against one of AT&T's customers that originated from a 4chan user. Access to 4chan on AT&T broadband services has since been restored.”

2. Knoyme King withdrew her suit against Randall Stephenson in April 2016. Please add a sentence noting this fact at the end of the fourth paragraph under Biography or consider removing reference to the lawsuit from the article. Rewrite of paragraph with new sentence at end: “In April 2015, Stephenson was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Knoyme King, an assistant at AT&T. According to King, Stephenson was complicit in covering up racist texts sent by then-President Aaron Slator.[1] King withdrew her suit against Stephenson in April 2016 [2]

Thank you for considering these two edits. Justin Goldsborough (talk) 21:44, 26 March 2018 (UTC)Reply

References

  1. ^ "AT&T Fires President Over Racist Text, $100M Lawsuit Goes On". cbslocal.com. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  2. ^ "Request for dismissal" (PDF). The Superior Court of California: County of Los Angeles. Retrieved 26 March 2018.

Reply quotebox with inserted reviewer decisions and feedback 26-MAR-2018 edit

Below you will see where text from your request has been quoted with individual advisory messages placed underneath, either accepting, declining or otherwise commenting upon your proposal(s). Please see the enclosed notes for additional information about each request. Spintendo      22:32, 26 March 2018 (UTC)Reply

Please remove the following sentences: “On July 26, 2009, Stephenson was falsely reported as having died after falling into a coma following a massive cocaine binge during a party at his mansion.
  Approved. [note 1]
___________

Knoyme King withdrew her suit against Randall Stephenson in April 2016. Please add a sentence noting this fact at the end of the fourth paragraph under Biography or consider removing reference to the lawsuit from the article. Rewrite of paragraph with new sentence at end: “In April 2015, Stephenson was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Knoyme King, an assistant at AT&T. According to King, Stephenson was complicit in covering up racist texts sent by then-President Aaron Slator. King withdrew her suit against Stephenson in April 2016.
  Approved. [note 2]
___________

  1. ^ If the original allegation was false, then repeating it seems to place the subject of the article at an unfair disadvantage, in that allegations which were originally ascribed to the subject but were shown to be false are allowed to stay in the article even though the article mentions they were false to begin with. The mark that the false allegation makes on the article should be removed, because the mere mention of it still leaves a mark, no matter that it was false.
  2. ^ Unlike the allegation in Note #1 above which was found to be false, this allegation is connected to a lawsuit filed against AT&T. Although the Request for Dismissal (CIV-110) would be considered a primary source document by some editors — and therefore unable to be added without corroboration from some other secondary source — I believe it to be sufficient to warrant the proposed qualification being added to the article. My reasoning is that the document passed through two hands in order to arrive at the state it is in: First, the attorney's who drafted it; Second, the judge and the judge's clerk who signed off on it. This inclusion of the various participants, all having reviewed its contents in sequence, expands the document's level of trustworthiness.

Edit Request edit

NOTE: I am proposing this edit for FleishmanHillard on behalf of AT&T. I am a paid editor and am aware of the COI guidelines. I am submitting this edit request to propose revisions and additions to the article that reflect new information in hopes of making the article more current and up-to-date. I have outlined the proposed edits below by section, with the proposed new copy below the outline in the extended content. I also included all current and new sources within the proposed copy. Thank you for your consideration.

  1. Upfront
    1. Slightly revise the first sentence and remove the last sentence since he no longer serves as the chairman of the Boy Scouts of America.
  2. Early life and education
    1. Replace the first paragraph of the current biography section with a new "Early life and education" section, and revise it slightly.
  3. Career - Early Career, AT&T and Key Milestones
    1. Sort the remaining information in the current biography section into a new "Career" section, with subsections for "Early Career" and "AT&T". Both sections are slightly revised from the previous biography section and contain some new information and sources. (E.g., being mentored by Carlos Slim.)
    2. Add a "Key Milestones" section under AT&T, with the information/sources shown in the draft copy.
    3. We would also like to request to remove the fourth paragraph in the "Biography" section that discusses a lawsuit filed by Knoyme King on the grounds of relevancy. We argue that because Stephenson was removed as a co-defendant, this would make him two steps removed from the lawsuit and thus be in relevance level C and should be removed per Wikipedia's guidelines on Relevance.
  4. Scouting
    1. Slightly revise the section per the included draft copy since Stephenson's term as chairman ended on May 24, 2018.
  5. Recognition
    1. Add a "Recognition" section, which includes the Chief Executive accolade previously mentioned in biography section, as well as three new accolades.
  6. Philanthropy
    1. Replace the "Personal Life" section with a Philanthropy section, which includes one of AT&T's philanthropic initiatives as well as the note on him being a Council on Foreign Relations member previously included in the Personal life section.
Extended content

Upfront edit

Randall Lynn Stephenson (born April 22, 1960) is an American telecommunications, media and technology executive. He has served as the chairman, chief executive officer and president of AT&T Inc. since May 9, 2007.

Early life and education edit

Stephenson was born and raised in Oklahoma, where his father ran a cattle-feed business. He earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla., and his master of accountancy from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla.[1][2]

Career edit

Early Career edit

Stephenson began his career in 1982 with Southwestern Bell Telephone, working the night shift in a data center. During a three-year stint in Mexico City overseeing SBT’s investment in Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex), Stephenson was mentored by Carlos Slim and held several leadership positions in finance.[1] In July 2001, Stephenson was appointed chief financial officer for SBC, helping the company reduce its net debt from $30 billion to near zero by early 2004. From 2003 to 2004, Stephenson served as chairman of the board of directors for Cingular Wireless. In 2004, he was named chief operating officer of SBC and also appointed by President Bush to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.

AT&T edit

Following SBC’s acquisition of AT&T in 2005, Stephenson continued as COO, responsible for all wireless and wireline operations at AT&T. In April 2007, AT&T announced Stephenson would succeed retiring Edward Whitacre as CEO.[2]

Key Milestones edit

  • In 2014, Stephenson spearheaded AT&T’s initiative to help employees modernize their skills in areas such as coding, app development and data analytics.[3]
  • In 2015, AT&T acquired DIRECTV under Stephenson’s leadership. The acquisition made AT&T the world’s largest pay-TV company, adding some 38 million satellite TV customers.[4]
  • In September 2016, Stephenson gave an impassioned and personal speech about race relations at AT&T’s annual Employee Resource Group conference in Dallas. An employee posted a video of the speech to YouTube, in which Stephenson asked attendees to make a greater effort to understand each other and communicate better.[5]
  • In October 2016, under Stephenson’s leadership, AT&T announced its merger with Time Warner to combine Time Warner video content (including HBO, Turner and Warner Brothers) with AT&T’s wireless, broadband, fiber and satellite network. The United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit November 2017 to block the deal. Senior United States District Court Judge Richard J. Leon is hearing the court case and is expected to issue his decision soon.[6]

References

  1. ^ Scott Moritz and Gerry Smith (October 23, 2016). "AT&T Dealmaker Is a Carlos Slim Protege With a List in Cloud". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  2. ^ "WSJ on Randal Stephenson". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
  3. ^ Quentin Hardy (February 13, 2016). "Gearing Up for the Cloud, AT&T Tells Its Workers: Adapt, or Else". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  4. ^ Alina Selyukh (July 24, 2015). "AT&T, DirecTV complete merger to form biggest pay-TV company". Reuters. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  5. ^ Brian Fung (September 30, 2016). "Watch AT&T's CEO give a forceful defense of Black Lives Matter". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  6. ^ Cecilia Kang (April 19, 2016). "AT&T Chief Attacks Lawsuit to Block Time Warner Merger". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2018.

Scouting edit

Stephenson served as the 36th National chairman of the Boy Scouts of America. He served from May 26, 2016, until May 24, 2018.[1] He and fellow board member James Turley, former Chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young, publicly opposed the BSA’s former policy banning openly gay Scouts and stated their intention “to work from within the BSA Board to actively encourage dialogue and sustainable progress.” The policy was subsequently changed.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ "Randall Stephenson, AT&T CEO, elected BSA national president". 26 May 2016.
  2. ^ Cobb, Joshua (July 17, 2012). "AT&T CEO commits to ending ban on gay Boy Scouts, leaders". Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  3. ^ McGregor, Jena (July 19, 2012). "After Boy Scouts of America reaffirms exclusion of gays, the biggest leadership question remains". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 10, 2013.

Recognition edit

  • 2016 Chief Executive CEO of the Year.[1]
  • 2017 Fortune “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.”[2]
  • 2017 Vanity Fair “New Establishment” list.[3]
  • Appointed member of the board of directors and previous chairman of the Business Roundtable.[4]

References

  1. ^ Donlon, J.P. (July–August 2016). "How Randall Stephenson Took AT&T Into the Future of Digital". Chief Executive (283): 28–36.
  2. ^ "Randall Stephenson". Fortune. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  3. ^ Nick Biltoon, William Cohan, Marley Coyne, Josh Duboff, Sarah Ellison, Emily Jane Fox, Maya Kosoff, Bess Levin, Julie Miller, Tina Nguyen, Joanna Robinson, Kevin Roose, Abigail Tracy, Dan Primack. "The 2017 New Establishment". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 1, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "AT&T Chairman & CEO Randall Stephenson Named Chairman of Business Roundtable" (Press release). Business Roundtable. September 18, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2018.

Philanthropy edit

  • Soon after becoming CEO, Stephenson focused AT&T’s philanthropic mission on education with the launch of the AT&T Aspire initiative in 2008. AT&T has committed $400 million to the initiative since 2008.[1]
  • Council on Foreign Relations member.[2]

References

  1. ^ Gary Jacobson (May 2012). "At Dallas-based AT&T, the top boss is also a mentor". Dallas News. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  2. ^ "Membership Roster – Council on Foreign Relations". Cfr.org. Retrieved 2012-09-15.

References edit

Alec Voss (talk) 14:27, 1 June 2018 (UTC)Reply

Reply quote box with inserted reviewer decisions and feedback 01-JUN-2018 edit

Below you will see where text from your request has been quoted with individual advisory messages placed underneath, either accepting, declining or otherwise commenting upon your proposal(s). Please see the enclosed notes for additional information about each request. BLP sources maintenance template appended to the article. .spintendo  23:24, 1 June 2018 (UTC)Reply

Extended content

Slightly revise the first sentence and remove the last sentence since he no longer serves as the chairman of the Boy Scouts of America.
  Approved.[note 1]

___________
Early life and education Replace the first paragraph of the current biography section with a new "Early life and education" section, and revise it slightly. Career - Early Career, AT&T and Key Milestones: Sort the remaining information in the current biography section into a new "Career" section, with subsections for "Early Career" and "AT&T".
  Not approved.[note 2]

___________
Both sections are slightly revised from the previous biography section and contain some new information and sources. (E.g., being mentored by Carlos Slim.)
  Partly approved.[note 3]

___________
Add a "Key Milestones" section under AT&T, with the information/sources shown in the draft copy:
  Approved.[note 4]

___________
We would also like to request to remove the fourth paragraph in the "Biography" section that discusses a lawsuit filed by Knoyme King on the grounds of relevancy. We argue that because Stephenson was removed as a co-defendant, this would make him two steps removed from the lawsuit and thus be in relevance level C and should be removed per Wikipedia's guidelines on Relevance.
  Unable to implement.[note 5]

___________
Scouting: Slightly revise the section per the included draft copy since Stephenson's term as chairman ended on May 24, 2018.
  Approved.[note 6]

___________
Add a "Recognition" section, which includes the Chief Executive accolade previously mentioned in biography section, as well as three new accolades. Replace the "Personal Life" section with a Philanthropy section, which includes one of AT&T's philanthropic initiatives as well as the note on him being a Council on Foreign Relations member previously included in the Personal life section.
  Not approved.

___________

  1. ^ The situation with regards to the subject's presidency of BSA is not entirely clear. No citations have been provided indicating that the subject is no longer president, while simultaneously citations still exist claiming the subject is the National Chair of BSA. In light of this, the text in the article was altered to state that with regards to being the president, he is not; with regards to him being National Chair, he still is.
  2. ^ The reason given for the edit request was to "propose revisions and additions to the article that reflect new information in hopes of making the article more current and up-to-date." The claims in this part of the edit request concern the subject's early life and education. In contrast with information obtained from the present, past information is relatively "set", in that changes to how the past is represented should only occur when fundamental facts are uncovered which describe past events in ways which are in-congruent with how they are currently described. For instance, if it were discovered that newer evidence had come to light regarding the use of accelerants during the Beverly Hills Supperclub fire of 1977, then the past would need to be altered to list the cause of the fire as arson, and not faulty wiring as it is now. If new evidence were discovered that inspectors were bribed to supply the Supperclub with a permit to operate, this would alter details, such as the descriptions of bribery, but would not fundamentally alter the outcome, which was and is faulty wiring. Describing the reason for changing past details in the article in order to reflect "current, up to date information" would not likely be necessary here, unless the details in the edit request offer fundamental differences with the details offered by the current version of the article.
  3. ^ The edit request draft was analyzed to determine which aspects of the text were novel to the standing version of the article, and these details, if found, were placed into the article.
  4. ^ The novel information here concerning the speech made by the article's subject as part of their employment with AT&T was appended to the article.
  5. ^ This portion of your request could not be implemented because the reference provided for the main argument — that the subject was dismissed as a co-defendant — does not contain a working URL and thus, could not be verified.
  6. ^ According to the BSA, the subject is still listed as National Chair. This was reflected in the article.

Reply to Reviewer 15-JUN-2018 edit

@Spintendo: Thanks for the feedback to my earlier edit request! Much appreciated. I wanted to quickly reach out to see if you could provide a note or feedback as to why the last edit in my edit request ("Add a 'Recognition' section...") was not approved. It was the only edit that did not receive feedback or a note, so I was just hoping I could get your insight and thoughts on why it was rejected. Thanks so much! Alec Voss (talk) 15:29, 15 June 2018 (UTC)Reply

Edit Request edit

NOTE: I am proposing this edit for FleishmanHillard on behalf of AT&T. I am a paid editor and am aware of the COI guidelines. I am submitting this edit request as a follow-up to my prior edit request, which was reviewed by user:Spintendo on 01-JUN-2018. Some of the proposed edits are new, but others are from the previous request and were rejected due to dead links and other minor errors. I took the editor’s feedback into account while revising or resourcing the edits in hopes that they will be accepted and add novel information to Mr. Stephenson’s page. Thank you for your consideration!

  1. Edit 1 – Remove the last sentence of the upfront paragraph regarding the Boy Scouts. The source used for this sentence (Source #1) has been recently updated to reflect that Jim Turley is the new National Chair of the Boy Scouts. Because of the updated source, I would also argue for the removal of the second sentence in the Scouting section (“Stephenson is listed by…”), and for the Boy Scouts of America box at the bottom of the page to be updated. (Succeeded by Jim Turley) Lastly, I’m hoping that the updated source #1 or this source[1] from a Boy Scouts press release will resolve the [citation needed] note on the first sentence of the Scouting section.
  2. Edit 2 – Add the following novel information after the third paragraph in the Biography section:
    • Soon after becoming CEO, Stephenson focused AT&T’s philanthropic mission on education with the launch of the AT&T Aspire initiative in 2008. AT&T has committed $400 million to the initiative since 2008.[2]
  3. Edit 3 – Request to remove the fourth paragraph in the Biography section that discusses a lawsuit filed by Knoyme King on the grounds of relevancy. I argued for this to be removed in the previous edit request, but the source I provided stopped working, resulting in a dead link. This new source[3] shows in the party information section that Stephenson was dismissed as a defendant. Note: The source has appeared to time out on some occasions – if this is the case, you can search the case by its number – BC579717. I know Wikipedia has guidelines on making sources as easy as possible to access and view for readers, so please let me know if this is sufficient sourcing.
  4. Edit 4 – Add in the following novel information (recognitions) in the fifth paragraph in the Biography section, to accompany the Chief Executive CEO of the Year accolade. This addition was included in my prior edit request, but was not implemented and no feedback was given on why it was not added.
    • Stephenson served as chairman of the Business Roundtable[4], from 2014 to 2016. In 2017, he was named one of Fortune “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders”[5] and listed as one of 50 people to Vanity Fair’s “New Establishment” list. [6]
  5. Edit 4 – Add in the following recent commentary from the Wall Street Journal as the final paragraph in the Biography section:
    • According to The Wall Street Journal, Stephenson has “transformed the phone company he inherited into one of the world’s biggest entertainment companies.”[7] During his tenure as CEO, AT&T acquired DirecTV for $49 billion in 2015 and Time Warner for $85 billion in June 2018.
  6. Edit 5 – Add his membership on the Business Roundtable to the sentence in the Personal Life section so it reads as:
    • Stephenson is a member of the Business Roundtable[8] and Council on Foreign Relations. [9]

Alec Voss (talk) 21:25, 22 June 2018 (UTC)Reply

References

  1. ^ "Thank You, Randall Stephenson And Welcome, Jim Turley" (Press release). Boy Scouts of America. May 26, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  2. ^ Gary Jacobson (May 2012). "At Dallas-based AT&T, the top boss is also a mentor". Dallas News. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  3. ^ "Case Access". The Superior Court of California. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  4. ^ "AT&T Chairman & CEO Randall Stephenson Named Chairman of Business Roundtable" (Press release). Business Roundtable. September 18, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  5. ^ "Randall Stephenson". Fortune. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  6. ^ Nick Biltoon, William Cohan, Marley Coyne, Josh Duboff, Sarah Ellison, Emily Jane Fox, Maya Kosoff, Bess Levin, Julie Miller, Tina Nguyen, Joanna Robinson, Kevin Roose, Abigail Tracy, Dan Primack. "The 2017 New Establishment". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 20, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Drew FitzGerald (June 12, 2018). "AT&T Chief Gambled and Won Big". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  8. ^ "AT&T Chairman & CEO Randall Stephenson Named Chairman of Business Roundtable" (Press release). Business Roundtable. September 18, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  9. ^ "Membership Roster – Council on Foreign Relations". Cfr.org. Retrieved 2012-09-15.


Reply quote box with inserted reviewer decisions and feedback 22-JUN-2018 edit

Below you will see where text from your request has been quoted with individual advisory messages placed underneath, either accepting, declining or otherwise commenting upon your proposal(s). Please see the enclosed notes for additional information about each request. Also note areas where additional clarification was requested. When this is ready to be provided to the reviewer, please open a new edit request. Thank you!  spintendo  13:15, 23 June 2018 (UTC)Reply

Reply quote box

Remove the last sentence of the upfront paragraph regarding the Boy Scouts. The source used for this sentence (Source #1) has been recently updated to reflect that Jim Turley is the new National Chair of the Boy Scouts.
  Approved.[note 1]

___________
Because of the updated source, I would also argue for the removal of the second sentence in the Scouting section (“Stephenson is listed by…”)
  Approved.[note 2]

___________
and for the Boy Scouts of America box at the bottom of the page to be updated. (Succeeded by Jim Turley)
  Approved.[note 3]

___________
Lastly, I’m hoping that the updated source #1 or this source[1] from a Boy Scouts press release will resolve the [citation needed] note on the first sentence of the Scouting section.
  Approved.[note 4]

___________
Soon after becoming CEO, Stephenson focused AT&T’s philanthropic mission on education with the launch of the AT&T Aspire initiative in 2008. AT&T has committed $400 million to the initiative since 2008.
  Not approved.[note 5]

___________
Request to remove the fourth paragraph in the Biography section that discusses a lawsuit filed by Knoyme King on the grounds of relevancy.
? Clarification needed.[note 6]

___________
Add in the following novel information (recognition's) in the fifth paragraph in the Biography section, to accompany the Chief Executive CEO of the Year accolade. This addition was included in my prior edit request, but was not implemented and no feedback was given on why it was not added.
  Previous decision explained.[note 7]

___________
Stephenson served as chairman of the Business Roundtable[4], from 2014 to 2016.
  Approved.[note 8]

___________
In 2017, he was named one of Fortune “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders”[5] and listed as one of 50 people to Vanity Fair’s “New Establishment” list.
  Not approved.[note 9]

___________
Add in the following recent commentary from the Wall Street Journal as the final paragraph in the Biography section: According to The Wall Street Journal, Stephenson has “transformed the phone company he inherited into one of the world’s biggest entertainment companies."
  Unable to implement.[note 10]

___________
During his tenure as CEO, AT&T acquired DirecTV for $49 billion in 2015 and Time Warner for $85 billion in June 2018.
  Not approved.[note 11]

___________
Add his membership on the Business Roundtable to the sentence in the Personal Life section so it reads as: Stephenson is a member of the Business Roundtable[8] and Council on Foreign Relations.
  Not approved.[note 12]

___________

  1. ^ This is indeed the reference which the prior request was lacking, and why it was not implemented at that time. Now that this press release has been issued, the information may be corrected.
  2. ^ This sentence was altered accordingly.
  3. ^ As this information does not exist in true template form transcluded from elsewhere, the information was updated in this article.
  4. ^ It does, and it will be removed.
  5. ^ As AT&T was located in the city where this information was published, I would prefer that it come from a news organization from outside of the area where the company is located. When a company employs many people in a city, people who, in turn, might make up a significant portion of that city's local media entity viewership. The possibility of a conflict of interest arises in what that local media outlet may cover as news. With large colorful pictures of smiling employees embracing what appears to be a man dressed up in a costume, the submitted reference piece from the Dallas News certainly has the outward appearance of being just such a piece, where information coming from the company may have been given a substantially inflated sense of importance to what would normally be reported upon. (See WP:PRIMARYCARE.)
  6. ^ This proposal states that a document "shows in the party information section that Stephenson was dismissed as a defendant." The number of documents available for this case are too numerous to peruse without specifying which document this refers to by name. The court document's names in this case are always labeled by date and action requested of the court (e.g., "07/31/2015 Motion to Quash - Service of Summons and First Amended Complaint for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction"). The COI editor's request should make reference to the relevant document using this system of identification, in order that the document may be reviewed more easily.
  7. ^ That proposal was previously declined as adding little substantive value to the article beyond applying subjective laudits to the subject. (See WP:PUFF.)
  8. ^ On second thought regarding this mention, being chairman of BRT is slightly more significant than just being a member, thus the mention of his chairmanship was added to the article. Nevertheless, it should be noted that routine memberships in business groups may be important for the subject's own personal growth as a member of the business community, but keeping track of these here in the article are not what the article's content should strive to accomplish. (See WP:NOTCV.)
  9. ^ These types of descriptions of the subject serve to laudit their actions in a subjective manner, adding little substantive information to the article. (See WP:NUMBER1.)
  10. ^ This portion of your request could not be implemented because it has not been made clear whom this quote is from. If the quote is originating from the author of the WSJ piece, then that author's name should accompany their words. (See WP:MOSQUOTE.)
  11. ^ This claim is unreferenced. (See WP:REF.)
  12. ^ As mentioned in Note #8, drawing up a balance sheet of the subject's routine memberships in business groups may serve to unbalance the rest of the article's more noted mentions, and should generally be avoided. (See WP:BALASP.)

Edit Request edit

NOTE: I am proposing this edit for FleishmanHillard on behalf of AT&T. I am a paid editor and am aware of the COI guidelines. I am submitting this edit request as a follow-up to my prior edit request, which was reviewed by Spintendo on 22-JUN-2018. I took the editors’ feedback into account and focused on two of the edits reviewed in the previous request that I’d argue could be implemented after providing additional information and revising. Thank you for your consideration!

Edit One

Request to remove the fourth paragraph in the Biography section that discusses a lawsuit filed by Knoyme King on the grounds of relevancy. I argued for this to be removed in the previous edit request, but Spintendo noted that additional clarification is needed, stating:

“This proposal states that a document "shows in the party information section that Stephenson was dismissed as a defendant." The number of documents available for this case are too numerous to peruse without specifying which document this refers to by name. The court document's names in this case are always labeled by date and action requested of the court (e.g., "07/31/2015 Motion to Quash - Service of Summons and First Amended Complaint for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction"). The COI editor's request should make reference to the relevant document using this system of identification, in order that the document may be reviewed more easily.”

Adhering to Spintendo’s feedback, the court document’s name and additional information regarding the case are as follows:

04/01/2016 Partial Dismissal (With Prejudice) – All causes of action as to Defendant Randall L. Stephenson ONLY.

The document was filed by Miller Barondess LLP, the attorney for the plaintiff/petitioner (Pltf/Petnr). The case number is BC579717, and was filed in the Stanley Mosk Courthouse (County of Los Angeles) on 04/27/2015. The case was dismissed on 09/28/2016.

Because Stephenson was removed as a co-defendant, I’d argue that this would make him two steps removed from the lawsuit and thus be in relevance level C and should be removed per Wikipedia's guidelines on Relevance. Let me know if this is sufficient information or if additional case information is needed for the edit to be considered/implemented.

Edit Two

Add in the following recent commentary from the Wall Street Journal as the final paragraph in the Biography section:

According to Drew FitzGerald of the The Wall Street Journal, Stephenson has “transformed the phone company he inherited into one of the world’s biggest entertainment companies.”[1] During his tenure as CEO, AT&T acquired DirecTV for $49 billion in 2015 and Time Warner for $85 billion in June 2018.[1]

This edit was proposed in the previous edit request, but Spintendo mentioned that the author’s name should accompany the words, and that the second sentence needs a reference. (Both sentences are from the same WSJ article.)

  1. ^ a b Drew FitzGerald (June 12, 2018). "AT&T Chief Gambled and Won Big". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 26, 2018.

Alec Voss (talk) 22:54, 26 July 2018 (UTC)Reply

Reply 26-JUL-2018 edit

 
  Implemented
  1.  Y The information regarding the mergers and the WSJ quote was added along with the reference.
  2.  Y At the beginning of April 2016 the plaintiffs motion to compel deposition was denied in part, and during case management it was decided that Stephenson would be dropped as a defendant, to which the defense filed their withdrawal of demurrer. The case against the remaining defendants was settled out of court in September 2016. This recounting of court actions has been reflected in the prose as best possible given the limited access to court documents, with help from the LA Times reference. I hope this brings closure to that section of the text. It may feel incomplete, but that's the record of what happened as best as I can tell.  spintendo  02:00, 27 July 2018 (UTC)Reply
@Spintendo: Thanks for the feedback! Re: the King lawsuit, I think what you revised it to gives the most accurate record of what happened and brings closure on the issue. The one remaining question I have is regarding the box at the top of the page stating that the article needs additional citations for verification. I think that box was added when a dead link was added to the page, but now there's no dead links or citation needed references in the article. Since this is the case, I would argue that the box could be removed. Is this something that needs further debate or a new edit request, or would you agree and be able to remove it? Thanks! Alec Voss (talk) 15:06, 13 August 2018 (UTC)Reply

Edit Request edit

NOTE: I am proposing this edit for FleishmanHillard on behalf of AT&T. I am a paid editor and am aware of the COI guidelines. I am submitting this edit request to argue that the maintenance template at the top of the article should be removed. I believe the box stating that the article needs additional citations for verification was added after a reference was added that led to a dead link. (It was a reference to the case file for Knoyme King's lawsuit showing that Stephenson was removed as a co-defendant. The reference was fixed after it was discovered to be a dead link.) There appears to be no more references in the article that are dead links, so I would argue that the maintenance template should be removed. Thank you for your consideration! Alec Voss (talk) 18:34, 21 October 2018 (UTC)Reply

Reply 21-OCT-2018 edit

   Maintenance template removed   Spintendo  02:34, 22 October 2018 (UTC)Reply

Edit Request edit

NOTE: I am proposing this edit for FleishmanHillard on behalf of AT&T. I am a paid editor and am aware of the COI guidelines. The reference to the CEO of the Year accolade says it needs verification. This source should be sufficient.[1]

  1. ^ Jennifer Pellet (October 12, 2016). "Celebrating the 2016 CEO of the Year: AT&T's Randall Stephenson". Chief Executive. Retrieved November 5, 2018.

Alec Voss (talk) 23:04, 5 November 2018 (UTC)Reply


Reply 05-NOV-2018 edit

   Claim statement moved to External links section  

  • This award represents the views of those who chose Mr. Stephenson as the recipient, in this case, a small group of participants closely linked to the "CEO of the Year" award process as put forth by Chief Executive magazine.
  • While that publication is notable, the award itself is not.
  • The award process participant's decisions regarding Mr. Stephenson involve a tiny group of people whose decision making is determined through a process which includes the following:

    Once we got past the performance criteria, we also looked at employee engagement and people processes; the company’s impact on the community; and then, finally, the person him or herself—that missing dimension that has to do with substance and values like courage, integrity, judgment and personal reputation,” added Tom Saporito, CEO of RHR International, who served as an advisor to the selection committee.

  • Because this process involves a selection committee whose ultimate criteria for making these decisions is closed and not open to independent review, the award itself could be interpreted as falling under the rubric of a "minority view".
  • Per WP:UNDUE, generally the views of tiny minorities should not be included at all in articles, except perhaps in a "see also" to an article about those specific views.
  • Accordingly, the link to the award has been placed in the External links section.

Regards,  Spintendo  02:29, 6 November 2018 (UTC)Reply

Edit Request edit

NOTE: I am proposing this edit for FleishmanHillard on behalf of AT&T. I am a paid editor and am aware of the COI guidelines. I am submitting this edit request to request to remove the fourth paragraph in the Biography section that discusses a lawsuit filed by Knoyme King on the grounds of relevancy. I argued for the removal of this paragraph in a previous edit request, and included the court details are as follows:

04/01/2016 Partial Dismissal (With Prejudice) – All causes of action as to Defendant Randall L. Stephenson ONLY.

The document was filed by Miller Barondess LLP, the attorney for the plaintiff/petitioner (Pltf/Petnr). The case number is BC579717, and was filed in the Stanley Mosk Courthouse (County of Los Angeles) on 04/27/2015. The case was dismissed on 09/28/2016.

Because Stephenson was ultimately removed as a co-defendant and there was minimal media coverage of his involvement in the lawsuit (reference 6, the LA Times article doesn't mention him and reference 4 only briefly mentions him), I’d argue that this would make him two steps removed from the lawsuit and thus be in relevance level C and should be removed per Wikipedia's guidelines on Relevance. Thanks for your consideration. Alec Voss (talk) 03:10, 18 April 2019 (UTC)Reply

Reply 18-APR-2019 edit

Since you brought it up, I think it would be a good idea to review that previous edit request you made 8 months ago regarding the King lawsuit. This is how it was resolved at that time:

At the beginning of April 2016 the plaintiffs motion to compel deposition was denied in part, and during case management it was decided that Stephenson would be dropped as a defendant, to which the defense filed their withdrawal of demurrer. The case against the remaining defendants was settled out of court in September 2016. This recounting of court actions has been reflected in the prose as best possible given the limited access to court documents, with help from the LA Times reference. I hope this brings closure to that section of the text. It may feel incomplete, but that's the record of what happened as best as I can tell.
— User:Spintendo 02:00, 27 July 2018 (UTC)

And your reply:

Thanks for the feedback! Re: the King lawsuit, I think what you revised it to gives the most accurate record of what happened and brings closure on the issue. Thanks!
— User:Alec Voss 15:06, 13 August 2018 (UTC)

Please elaborate on what has occurred in the intervening 8 months to change your view on how this matter should be settled. As far as WP:RELEVANCE, King's lawsuit directly mentioned the subject. Stephenson was dropped as a defendant, the reasons for which — as I mentioned in the quoted material above — we dont have access to (specifically, the reasoning used by the court in the denial of the motion to compel deposition). All we have is that he was added and then dropped. This information is still relevant to Stephenson because it was, at one point, a complaint about him — which would count under level B. And while the case was settled out of court, meaning the charges against the others were not entirely spurious, it's still unfortunate that the subject was initially included in this case, especially since he was dropped from it. But that important fact is mentioned prominently in the article and should offer some consolation in the absence of a source saying he should have never been included in the first place, which we dont have. I'm not monitoring this page actively, so if you have further concerns, please feel free to reactivate your request by changing the {{request edit}} template's answer parameter to read from |ans=yes to |ans=no. Regards,  Spintendo  13:31, 25 April 2019 (UTC)Reply

Edit Request edit

NOTE: I’m proposing the following edits for FleishmanHillard on behalf of AT&T. I am a paid editor and aware of the COI guidelines. I’m submitting these edits to Randall Stephenson’s page to account for some outdated information. Please let me know of any questions or comments as you review and thanks for your time and consideration. Jon Gray (talk) 00:44, 12 January 2021 (UTC)Reply


Lead Section

  • The first sentence refers to Stephenson as “an American telecommunications executive, but given his retirement in 2020,[1] we propose changing this to “a retired American telecommunications executive.”
  • Related, we propose replacing the second sentence in the lead section with the sentence below to account for his change in status. Citations included below to validate changes:

He served as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of AT&T Inc. from May 9, 2007 – June 30, 2020 and as executive chairman of AT&T Inc. from July 1 until December 31, 2020.[2] [3]

  • Propose removing the third sentence in the lead section (“He served as National Chair of the Boy Scouts…”) as that is already covered in the Scouting section with his correct title, National President. [4]
  • In the fourth sentence, suggest adding “COO” before “John Stankey” for clarity on title/role.
  • The final sentence in the lead section (“In November 2020, Stephenson announced…”) incorrectly lists Stephenson stepping down as Chairman, but correct title is “executive chairman.”[5] Propose adding “executive” before “chairman” for accuracy.


Biography

  • Propose adding the following sentence after the first sentence in the section to offer context and clarity on Southwestern Bell Telephone/Southwestern Bell Corporation. SBT was renamed SBC following divestiture from AT&T in 1984:

In 1984, Southwestern Bell was renamed Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC) following the break-up of AT&T.[6]

  • Given the rename, the subsequent mention of SBT (“…overseeing SBT’s investment in…”) should please be updated to “SBC.”
  • In the second sentence of the next paragraph (“In April 2007, AT&T announced Stephenson…”), propose updating company mention at the end of the sentence to AT&T Inc. to account for his position with the holding company of AT&T.[7]
  • Propose replacing the first sentence of the seventh paragraph with the sentence below (in bold) to account for events that have already transpired:

On July 1, 2020, Stephenson retired as CEO of AT&T. He was succeeded by then-COO John Stankey.[8]


References

  1. ^ "AT&T Names John Stankey C.E.O. as Randall Stephenson Plans to Retire". The New York Times. April 24, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2021. AT&T, the telecommunications giant that has moved into media and entertainment, announced a changing of the guard on Friday. John Stankey, a veteran of the company, will become its new chief executive starting July 1. He will take the reins from Randall L.Stephenson, who has led AT&T since 2007.
  2. ^ "AT&T Names John Stankey C.E.O. as Randall Stephenson Plans to Retire". The New York Times. April 24, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2021. AT&T, the telecommunications giant that has moved into media and entertainment, announced a changing of the guard on Friday. John Stankey, a veteran of the company, will become its new chief executive starting July 1. He will take the reins from Randall L.Stephenson, who has led AT&T since 2007.
  3. ^ "AT&T Names John Stankey C.E.O. as Randall Stephenson Plans to Retire". The New York Times. April 24, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2021. Mr. Stephenson, 60, will stay on as executive chairman of the board through this year, the company said in a statement.
  4. ^ "THANK YOU, RANDALL STEPHENSON AND WELCOME, JIM TURLEY". ScoutingWire. May 26, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2021. One such figure is Randall Stephenson, who this week will conclude his term as our 36th National President.
  5. ^ "AT&T names William Kennard, former FCC head, as company's next chairman". Dallas Business Journal. November 6, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2021. AT&T is getting a former official with the Federal Communications Commission as its next chairman.The Dallas company's directors named William Kennard — already on the board — to take the position in January. He follows Randall Stephenson, who was set to relinquish the post of executive chairman after also stepping down as CEO July 1.
  6. ^ "How AT&T Conquered The 20th Century". Wired. September 3, 2011. Retrieved January 11, 2021. When the antitrust hammer finally came down on AT&T in the early 1980s, it was in part because the pace of technology had overtaken the company…Former AT&T subsidiary Southwestern Bell renamed itself SBC and merged with Pacific Telesis, providing service to seven states, including California and Texas.
  7. ^ "AT&T chief's retirement package: $158.5M". CNN Money. April 27, 2007. Retrieved January 11, 2021. AT&T Inc. Chief Executive Edward Whitacre will be given one of the highest-paying retirement packages in 2007, weighing in at $158.5 million, a newspaper reported Friday. Whitacre announced that he will retire on June 3 from the world's largest telecommunications company. The board had selected current chief operating officer Randall Stephenson to replace him as both chief executive and chairman, he said.
  8. ^ "AT&T Names John Stankey C.E.O. as Randall Stephenson Plans to Retire". The New York Times. April 24, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2021. John Stankey, a veteran of the company, will become its new chief executive starting July 1. He will take the reins from Randall L.Stephenson, who has led AT&T since 2007. Mr. Stankey, 57, became the chief operating officer last October and has managed the bulk of the company's operations since then.
@Jon Gray I've implemented most of your request with the exception off "Propose removing the third sentence in the lead section (“He served as National Chair of the Boy Scouts…”)" since I think that is important enough to mention, "suggest adding “COO” before “John Stankey” for clarity on title/role."as I didn't think it was necessary there (text later on mentions it) and "In 1984, Southwestern Bell was renamed Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC) following the break-up of AT&T.[6]" as I couldn't find a good way to fit it in. Asartea Talk | Contribs 14:27, 13 March 2021 (UTC)Reply

Waiting for a Refund since November 24, 2021 edit

It's being nothing but "A run around" One person says one thing. Then the next person says.... "NO that wasn't right"! The next person says... "NO that was not correct". MR.CEO you need to train the people in your company about what your prcedures are. What Goes on in your company is nothing but screw your customers!! If you don't then close direct tv down! This is ridiculous to try to get a refund from you guys. If you we Owed you money our service where still connected you would have cut it off a long time ago. So direct TV please Give us a refund Instead of the run around. M. Colananni, Indiana, PA 2601:543:C001:BDE0:1109:5FF6:68DF:33E8 (talk) 22:31, 1 February 2022 (UTC)Reply

My Very Bad/Lousy Customer Treatment/Experiences of July 17, 2023 with one Att clerk Jennifer edit

And Also for more than a week I had been transferred from one phone/clerk to multiples places only I did not had proper help since I had purchased my prepaid Att phone and I am very Upset to be hanged up by this Jennifer, on July 17, 2023. I truly believed All Att Customers whether Prepaid Att as myself and any type of purchased phones from Att Should Be Treated With Respects, As all of Att People Should Be Grateful and Mindfuls from customers to Patronize Att products/Any Att Phones like myself I Asks you and All CEO's and/or Executives/Officers to Pay attention to this messages/letter from me today, July 18, 2024 I appreciate And Thank You Much, If Any, Considerations for Upon Reading My Letter Thanks Much 2603:8001:B001:F73C:E92D:1424:6E4D:6C9B (talk) 23:03, 18 July 2023 (UTC)Reply