What better place for Sir Howard Stringer to reminisce about the great Johnny Carson than the annual Giants of Broadcasting event?

The chairman of Sony’s board was feted at yesterday’s 10th anniversary edition in New York City alongside Norman Lear, Ted Turner, Robert MacNeil, Jim Lehrer, Eric Farber, George Beasley and – posthumously – Don Cornelius and Andy Rooney. Our FishbowlNY colleague Jerry Barmash was able to grab a few minutes with Stringer, who recalled a great fringe benefit of helping orchestrate the successful CBS pursuit of David Letterman:

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Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Michael Lynton is expected to be named CEO of Sony Corp. of America, according to multiple reports.

In his new role, Lynton will  now oversee Sony’s music division along with the television and movie operations. He’s expected to remain based in Culver City and won’t relocate to the Sony U.S. headquarters in New York City. According to the Financial Times, Lynton’s promotion could become official as early as next week.

Lynton’s promotion is just one of two major moves on the horizon as Kazuo Hirai is succeeding Howard Stringer as chief executive of Sony Corp. on April 1

Variety Editor Peter Bart unleashes on Sony Corp. chairman Howard Stringer in his column last Friday.

Bart points out that Fox top dog Peter Chernin is about to sign another deal atop News Corp. He notes that 66-year-old Stringer is quietly signing on for three more years. So much for mandatory retirement. He also marvels at Stringer’s ability to continue existence as a non-Japanese Yank-Brit-Welshman.

While Bart wonders how Stringer can maintain, the executive was more than present cutting deals up at Sun Valley with Sony CFO Rob Wiesenthal last July. He seemed to have no intent of retiring, regardless of Bart’s posture.

Dan Cox, on special assignment for FishbowlLA, covering the 2008 Sun Valley Media Conference.

As studio chairmen and agency heads all attempt to escape the jowls of Hollywood and its labor problems, the Screen Actors Guild has a bright marketing executive. SAG bought an full-page ad in the local paper for Sun Valley, the Idaho Mountain Express, that said simply: “We Want a Deal.”

It was aimed at the studio heads up here, including Universal’s Ron Meyer, DreamWorks’ Jeffrey Katzenberg, Sony’s Sir Howard Stringer, Disney’s Robert Iger and agency senior executives like ICM’s Jeff Berg, CAA’s Richard Lovett and Bryan Lourd, UTA’s Jim Berkus and William Morris Agency’s Jim Wiatt.

Unfortunately for SAG, as Sony chairman Stringer told mediabistro: “Unfortunately for the Screen Actors Guild, we don’t see that newspaper up here. It’s not delivered to us.”

Also seen in the valley: IAC chairman and CEO Barry Diller who had to stop riding his bike after almost running into Wendi Deng, wife to billionaire media mogul Rupert.

“Where are you going, Wendi,” Diller asks.
“I’m going to get some Yoga pants,” she replies.
“What are yogurt pants?” Diller persists.
“No, yoga pants, you know to do yoga in.”
“Yogurt pants?”

Hubby Rupert was later cornered by an AP reporter who asked about the markets. Murdoch’s simple yet eloquent reply: “I’m a bear.”

Dan Cox, on special assignment for FishbowlLA, covering the 2008 Sun Valley Media Conference.

Sony chairman Sir Howard Stringer and his right-hand man, CFO Rob Wiesenthal were scurrying about the Sun Valley meeting hall early Wednesday.

“We’re making progress with our Blu Ray and DVD deals,” Stringer said. “Our PlayStation Network people are here.”

Stringer said he uses Sun Valley to forge ahead with meetings that Sony has underway. “Many of the people we’re doing deals with are here,” he said. “They’re all in one place and accessible.”

Wiesenthal added: “We actually get a lot of work done here. We don’t have any kids.”

But more to the point, Stringer had a request of Wiesenthal as he entered the business center.

“Do they have a USA Today?” Wiesenthal emerged with a USA Today and a Wall Street Journal.

“I don’t need that one,” Stringer said and he handed the Journal off to a nearby journalist.

A few minutes later, former Viacom exec Tom Freston and his wife ran into Susie Buffett, Warren Buffett‘s daughter who runs the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named after her mother who passed away in 2004.

Freston was eager to tell Buffett about a trip he’s taking to Rwanda next week.

The elder Buffett, meanwhile, was avoiding reporters as he traipsed about the meeting hall. “I’m ducking out on interviews right now,” he told the Financial Times reporter as he breathlessly walked back into the business center.