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Desperate Networks : Starring Katie Couric Les Moonves Simon Cowell Dan Rather Jeff Zucker Teri Hatcher Conan O'Brien Donald Trump and a Host of Other Movers and Shakers Who |  | Author: Bill Carter
Publisher: Doubleday
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
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Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 167157
Format: Deluxe Edition
Media: Hardcover
Edition: Networks
Pages: 384
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.6
ISBN: 0385514409
Dewey Decimal Number: 384.550973
EAN: 9780385514408
ASIN: 0385514409
Publication Date: May 2, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In the executive offices of the four major networks, sweeping changes are taking place and billions of dollars are at stake. Now Bill Carter, bestselling author of The Late Shift, goes behind the scenes to reveal the inner workings of the television industry, capturing the true portraits of the larger-than-life moguls and stars who make it such a cutthroat business.
In a time of sweeping media change, the four major networks struggle for the attention of American viewers increasingly distracted by cable, video games, and the Internet. Behind boardroom doors, tempers flare in the search for hit shows, which often get on the air purely by accident. The fierce competition creates a pressure-cooker environment where anything can happen . . .
• NBC’s fall from grace—Once the undisputed king of prime time, NBC plunged from first place to last place in the ratings in the course of a single season. What will be the price of that collapse—and who will pay it?
• CBS’s slow and steady race to the top—Unlike NBC, CBS, under the leadership of CEO, Leslie Moonves, engineered one of the most spectacular turnarounds in television history. But in this ruthless world, you’re only as good as last week’s ratings . . . .
• ABC’s surprising resurrection—Lost and Desperate Housewives—have brought ABC the kind of success it could only dream of in the past. So why don’t the executives responsible for those hits work there any more?
• The end of the news as we know it—In a stunningly short period of time, all three of the major network news anchors—Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, and Peter Jennings—signed off, leaving executives scrambling for a way to keep network news relevant in an era of 24/7 information.
• Crazy Like Fox—They’re outrageous, unconventional, and occasionally off-putting, but more and more people are watching Fox shows. Most of all they keep watching American Idol. How did Simon Cowell snooker himself into a huge payday? Stay tuned . . .
In Desperate Networks Bill Carter digs deep inside the industry, delivering utterly irresistible “dish” that you won’t find anywhere else. It’s the perfect book to read when there’s nothing on TV.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 17
 Great READ February 19, 2010
D. TIE (Los Angeles, CA)
A MUST READ for anyone who's in the television industry. It's a great read and great way to familiarize yourself with the big TV players in the industry.
surprised me June 28, 2008
N
Since I don't watch a lot of TV and have only watched one of the shows the book focuses on (heard of most of the rest of them though), I didn't expect to enjoy it nearly as much as I did. However, it was a fascinating read of the inner workings of the television business.
It's written very well though one must question how the author obtained the information to say "so-and-so thought X" since he describes rather minute details of people's reactions and inner thoughts. I'm not sure he he did numerous interviews and then wrote them all up in a narrative or what but regardless, I took some of it with a grain of salt but enjoyed it all nonetheless.
It gives a good portrait of the minds of TV executives: they seem to be a hard hearted, shamelessly greedy, and self-absorbed bunch. When I watch TV now, I feel like a pawn in their game as what you're seeing on TV is not so much the idea of a writer as it is a pandering to advertisers.
Great look into the television industry June 10, 2008
D. Franks (Dallas, TX USA)
This book is a great insight into not only the network television industry as a whole, but also provides a very interesting look at the history of your favorite television networks and shows from the past few decades.
This book focuses on the lives of the heads of the four respective networks. Even though they were names that most have never heard of, they are the ones responsible for deciding what we are going to watch on television.
A great read for people like myself who have no knowledge of the behind the scenes workings of network television.
An in-depth look @ network TV in the 21st century! January 7, 2008
Chuck Donegan (NY)
Having devoured Carter's 1994 book The Late Shift (a fascinating story of the Leno-Letterman late night TV battle) when it was released, I can safely say he's done it again w/this fascinating glimpse inside the 4 networks and the decisions that helped shape primetime TV in recent years...especially fascinating are some surprising facts revealed along the way, such as how:
- CSI was nearly passed up by CBS in favor of a detecive dramedy called "Homewood PI", which was to star Tony Danza
- The "results show" on American Idol was created out of necessity so all viewers could vote (its UK equivalent, Pop Idol, is able to tabulate all votes immediately after the show airs b/c the country's entirely contained within one time zone, unlike the States)
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus was considered for the role of Susan on Desperate Housewives
- Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire, had it not turned out to be one of Fox's biggest fiascos, would've become a franchise that included a sequel, a "reverse" version that had a wealthy bride picking from a series of prospective grooms, etc.
All told, a great read for anyone who wants to know more about the ever-changing face of primetime TV and the backstories of current hit shows!
 A Desperate Writer's Attempt to Kiss Up to Networks August 24, 2007
Mediaman (USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Bill Carter has spent years covering TV for the New York Times and in order to keep his inside sources, he needs to kiss up to them. This book is filled with inside stories gleaned from the first five years of the new millennium and some of the stories are interesting. But the writer has the bad habit of using over-the-top adjectives about the network bigwigs he is covering. The bigger the person in power, the bigger the superlatives used to the point of it being laughable.
In the end CBS chief Les Moonves, who is called "genius," comes across as inept and power-hungry. Once the writer's bias is stripped away the real story here is that those in charge of network TV have no clue how to program hit television shows. In virtually every case of a major success, the network leaders initially scoff at the program but then take credit when it becomes a hit. And none of these rich, elitist programmers seem to know what mainline American viewers want to watch.
Bottom line--the book has interesting stories for those who are addicted to how networks program prime time. But the author's writing style is stilted and lacks credibility. There are a number of factual errors and the reader should beware that what is presented as fact is actually the author's filtered view of an industry that he needs to kiss up to in order to keep his job.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 17
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