Ken Auletta Three Blind Mice

Annotation

In 1986, all three of the major TV networks were taken over by new owners: ABC by Capital Cities; CBS by financiers Larry and Bob Tisch; NBC by General Electric. The resultant upheavals--management power plays, losses of thousands of staff jobs--have been crafted into a truly dramatic book by Auletta, a highly regarded business reporter ( Greed and Glory on Wall Street , LJ 2/15/86). Given entry to executive suites and board meetings, Auletta has acquired exclusive, first-hand knowledge of the trauma of change in a medium that affects every American family. Government regulations, prohibiting the networks from owning production studios and sharing in the fiscal bonanza of syndication, threaten their very survival, the author contends. An important book, highly recommended to all libraries.