A dramatic, savvy, and highly entertaining look at the fallen network giant that left the critics raving and CBS raving mad. From boardroom to control room, Peter Boyer reveals the events that dethroned a giant. "(An) unputdownable real-life business yarn."--Booklist. HC: Random House.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
As a New York Times television-industry reporter and former CBS Morning News media critic, Boyer ought to know the answer to his titular question. But, rather than settling on a single culprit, he offers a host of unsavory suspects around which a convincing case could be built: the vain, insecure Dan Ratherwhom no reader will ever be able to take seriously again; Richard Leibner, agent to Rather and dozens of other CBS News stars; Van Gordon Sauter and Ed Joyce, two successive CBS News presidents, the former a two-time veteran of the position; Lawrence Tisch and more. In the end, the central cause of the problems at CBS News was moneyjust as the network economy went soft, the costs of running a news division, with its astronomical salaries for on-screen "talent," skyrocketed. Boyer charts this imbalance with a keen eye for the arrogance, pettiness and greed that motivated many of the major players in the ensuing scramble. His is a tale of many small stories, sharply sketched, although the overlapping chronologies blur often enough to keep the bigger picture frustratingly out of focus; more careful attention to dates throughout the narrative would have helped enormously. Readers also will occasionally detect the telltale buzz of an ax-grinder at workBoyer's characterizations are obviously slanted, although no clear bias emerges. Nevertheless, the book succeeds as a vivid and compelling expose of the dirty business of television news, leaving no illusions in its wake. Photos not seen by PW. First serial to Vanity Fair; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The trouble with network news,
By
This review is from: Who Killed CBS: The Undoing of America's Number One News Network (Hardcover)
"Who Killed CBS" is a dated but still relevant expose of how the network which was once unsurpassed for the quality of its news division sunk during the 1970s and 1980s to the depths of mediocrity. How the modern evening news came to resemble tabloid shows like "A Current Affair" and "Hard Copy" is plainly evident in Boyer's descriptions of how CBS executives came increasingly to see television news as "entertainment." As news consumers, we are all worse off for this unfortunate development.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
